Sep. 9--Latin pop and salsa singer Marc Anthony estimates he runs about 12 miles on stage during a typical concert.
"It feels more like 30," he joked during a sound check last week at Miami's AmericanAirlines Arena.
Anthony, 39, met with 30 Allapattah Middle School and Belen Jesuit Preparatory students invited to attend his private sound check because they have committed to run 12 miles in the ING Run for Something Better program.
The program, founded in 2003 by Atlanta-based financial institution ING, encourages physical education teachers to promote running as a way to get young people on a healthier life path.
"It's a real problem, child obesity, and it's a problem that can be tackled by implementing simple measures," the singer/actor said before taking the students onto his stage for a quick thrill and photo op. "Kids in running and sports programs . . . it does a lot for self-esteem."
Local schools are moving in this direction, with PE programs focusing on diet, nutrition and regular workouts, including yoga and Pilates.
"We're putting wellness centers in our schools," says Jayne Greenberg, the district director of physical education and health literacy for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. "PE has changed a lot in the last few years."
One way it's changing is getting kids into regular running programs. As part of their 12-mile running commitment over the course of a semester, the students from Belen and Allapattah will finish the last 1.2 miles of the ING Miami Marathon, to be held Jan. 25.
Raul Cubina, 15, a 10th grader at Belen, ran ING's half-marathon last year, 13.1 miles. He believes he can do so again -- if he finds time to train.
'I trained the better part of a year [for the last one] and in the beginning I was thinking, 'What did I get myself into?' By the halfway mark I was feeling better and then went all-out at the end," he says.
In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 13 percent of high school children in Miami-Dade County are considered obese. Latins and blacks, in particular, tend to have higher rates of diabetes and hypertension than non-Hispanics whites, conditions that often result from weight issues.
Anthony didn't have to work hard to convince at least one group of girls from Allapattah about the importance of eating well and exercising.
They were giddy as they wound their way from the arena's offices to the main floor. "His movie El Cantante made me cry," said Yurimar Osorio, 13, an eighth grader. "He's so inspiring." To see more of The Miami Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Miami Herald Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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