Sep. 11--Nearly a third of children are obese or overweight, an epidemic of excessive weight that increases their risk of serious disease later in life.
Now, an initiative announced Wednesday hopes to reverse that trend in Western New York by turning physical fitness and good nutrition into a school competition.
The Fitness for Kids Challenge is one of a number of school-based interventions targeting obesity. But as planned, the $400,000 effort, which has been organized by the Independent Health Foundation and includes dozens of other sponsors, ranks as one of the most ambitious.
It aims to involve 250,000 children at more than 400 elementary and middle schools in the eight-county region. Schools will compete over eight months for prizes, including a $1,000 grant for health-related programs, based on the students' success at meeting goals for physical fitness and nutrition.
"Researchers are now reporting that if we do not change lifestyle habits in children, they will be part of the first generation in U. S. history not to live as long as the generation before them," said Dr. Michael Cropp, president and chief executive officer of health insurer Independent Health.
The project will attempt to encourage children 14 and younger to complete health and fitness activities during the school year. The more activity logs completed and submitted, the better chance to win prizes.
More than 150 schools, including Buffalo City Schools, have agreed to participate. Officials said they expect more schools to join with the increased publicity about the project.
"There is a health crisis in this country concerning the well-being of children, and our community needs to take a stronger role in encouraging physical fitness and exercise," said James A. Williams, Buffalo Schools superintendent.
Williams, who estimated that more than 50 percent of students in city schools are overweight, called for students and their parents to take greater responsibility for how they treat their bodies.
That was a similar message offered by other officials at the announcement of the program at Westminster Community Charter School.
County Executive Chris Collins and Mayor Byron W. Brown both stressed personal responsibility.
"Your life is in your own hands," Collins said. "And when I see obese children, I also ask how their parents can let that happen."
An estimated 23 million children are considered obese or overweight, and rates of obesity have nearly tripled since 1980, from 6.5 percent to 16.3 percent. But childhood obesity, after rising without a break for more than two decades, may have peaked, according to the latest government data collected from 1999 to 2006 by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and published earlier this year.
It's not clear if the numbers represent a true leveling off in obesity rates or a statistical abnormality. Regardless, experts say obesity remains a major public health problem because studies suggest excessive weight can lead to a variety of health problems, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
"We want to try to reverse the trend in obesity and believe it's children that can drive change in their households," said Gretchen Fierle, vice president of communications and community relations at Independent Health.
The region's two other major health insurance companies also conduct school-based obesity interventions.
Univera Healthcare's Fun 2B Fit program focuses on students in second, third and fourth grades, encouraging them to adopt healthy eating habits and to exercise. More than 16,000 students at 60 schools have participated over the program's four years.
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