RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
The Randolph Youth Center is participating in the Air Force-wide Youth Fitness and Health program for a second year for youth ages 6 to 18 years old.
The Air Force Services Family Member Program has committed to the well-being of military families and youth with its FitFactor web-based program, which encourages children and teens to "Get Up, Get Out, and Get Fit!"
"We want to help the youth start a habit of healthy eating and physical fitness," said Christine Fussell, youth center assistant director.
All children and adults have some body fat, but when people have a higher body fat content than is necessary, it can seriously impact their overall health and day-to-day life such as their ability to walk or run, said Ms. Fussell.
According to kidshealth.org, in the last 30 years, a growing number of children and teenagers have developed a weight problem, and now, between five and 25 percent of all white, black and Hispanic children and teenagers in the United States are obese.
Participants in the fitness program earn points in a variety of ways for being active. Eating healthy, individual activities, instructional classes, team sports and household chores all equate to points earned for youth. Prizes are awarded for each of the five levels reached.
Each physical or healthy eating activity is worth 25 or 50 points. After each activity, the participant must log on to www.agefit.com, select the activities link and favorite activity, and log the activity to earn points. FitFactor levels are "energy," after 1,000 points have been earned, "strength" for 3,000 points, "agility" for 8,000 points, "adventure" for 15,000 points and "endurance" for 25,000 points.
As an added incentive, caps, T-shirts, CDs and iPOD cases will be awarded in random drawings as bonus prizes twice a month for each participating base, said Ms. Fussell. To be eligible, participants must have logged at least 500 points in the previous month.
"It's important to make healthy, nutritional choices," she said. "We want to stress the importance of living a healthy lifestyle to the youth in our program."
For details, call 652-3298.