With an early start, children can enjoy fitness for life
Raising happy and healthy kids these days requires a committed balance to good diet and exercise habits
The 10-year-old takes his place on the yoga mat and stretches his body into a warrior pose. Deep breathing and serene, Sam Anderson is silent, but his muscles are screaming. “When I first started working with kids, I found most of the time they were kinetic and not in their bodies,” said instructor Carolyn Zimmerman. “Yoga allows them to feel their muscles.”
Sam and younger brother Max Anderson attend yoga class once a week at Terrie’s Workout Center. They also take boxing lessons with their mother, Amy Brackenridge, who has noticed a difference in the temperament of her two young boys.
“This allows them to relax and focus,” said Brackenridge, watching her children assume a tree pose. Sam, a fifth-grader at City Honors, also practices yoga each night before going to sleep. “It helps him calm down,” she explained.
The benefits of physical activity—yoga, boxing, climbing rock walls—have been well documented, yet one-third of this country’s children remain overweight or at risk of being overweight.
“No one is making a decision that they’re going to make their child overweight,” said Dr. Thomas Rosenthal, chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the University at Buffalo. “But you do have to get up every day and make a decision to eat well. Nutrition is really important, and activity is equally as important.”
Can we teach our kids how to make good food choices? Of course. But being a good role model goes beyond not having junk food in the house.
“In a way it’s diet manipulation,” noted Elvira Aletta, clinical psychologist, “but it’s not just what you eat, it’s how you move. It’s also how much sleep you get and how you handle stress. We’ve lost sight of that for our kids because we’re doing such a poor job on ourselves as adults.”
Keeping a balance
Derek Alessi weighed more when he was 12 years old than he does now at age 37. The fitness trainer and nutrition consultant who loved chocolate chip cookies weighed 210 pounds when he started high school in Clarence.
“I was a decent athlete, but I never excelled because I was too heavy,” said Alessi. “I often got picked last for the teams. As a kid, you don’t realize it, but other kids do, and they bring it to your attention.”
Alessi lost 50 pounds in high school, much of it due to an extensive weight-training program that he and his brother developed. Recently, he opened a children’s fitness center in Clarence.
“A 7-year-old wouldn’t eat meat. A 9-year-old ate only Fruit Loops for breakfast,” said Alessi, describing some of his young clients.
Sugar manages to sneak its way into so many foods, much of it in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that has replaced cane and beet sugar in processed foods and soft drinks over the past 25 years. A 16- ounce glass of orange juice, for example, contains the equivalent of 17 teaspoons of sugar, as does a 20-ounce bottle of cola.
On the rock wall, children are asked to climb their way to the top by choosing rocks that carry pictures of lean-protein foods. Swiss balls, small hand weights and floor scooters for soccer help keep the children moving. The emphasis is not on weight loss. There are no scales in sight.
For Anitza Arellano, 12, and her sister Mariana, 10, a visit to the fitness center meant a chance to improve their soccer and volleyball skills. Stamina and agility became their focus — as well as identifying good food choices.
“For us, it’s very, very important to have balance and both our girls are honor students, but we also feel physical activity is critical,” said Mauricio Arellano, their father. “We were looking for that habit of health, not a weight-loss program. We want healthy, well-balanced, happy children. That is our mission in life.”
Reaping the benefits
Good things come to those who exercise in moderation, according to Aletta.
“Young girls are vulnerable to eating disorders,” said the psychologist whose practice focuses on child issues. “There’s such an emphasis and a weird approach to weight. As a society we adore the slim skinny form, but so many of our children are dealing with obesity, and this is during a time they are forming their personalities.”
More than 23 million children and adolescents in this country are overweight or obese, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Children are in the process of development,” Aletta explained. “They are like sponges. How they see themselves as not fitting in or not feeling comfortable in their own skin, and not having control will affect their identity and self-esteem.”
There’s also the social aspect of exercise, how children learn to communicate with each other, be assertive and be good sports.
Sisters Angelina, 6, and Madison Meranto, 9, look forward to their yoga class every Tuesday.
“After class, they’re very excited to show their father and grandmother the new poses they learned,” said their mother, Lynn Meranto. “Even though they’re just kids, they do have a lot of stress in their lives, just like we do.”
The stress-busting element of exercise acknowledged, what about the mental boost that a set of push-ups can offer?
“There are theories of increased oxygen, the pumping of adrenaline, that allows memory receptors to hold onto information,” said Aletta. “It could be the endorphins allow the kid to focus better. There are a number of theories, but the outcomes are the same: The kid who exercises does better on tests.”
Daily, it seems, more teenagers are being diagnosed with diseases—including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis — commonly suffered by those who are significantly older. Experts point to poor nutrition as one of the reasons.
“We get lazy,” said Rosenthal. “A doughnut does keep you filled longer because it’s fat and fat satiates hunger for a longer period of time. I don’t come in from my morning run craving a doughnut. I crave something more substantial. People who exercise regularly have a different hunger.”
Fit Family
Growing Up Fit is a comprehensive weight-management program for children ages 7 to 15 and their families. The program, launched in 2005 by the YMCA, consists of an initial health assessment, eight weeks of nutrition education and exercise, a post-assessment and graduation celebration.
"Parents are packing the school lunches, making dinner and buying the groceries so it makes sense for them to attend with their children," said Kelly Standage, program director. "The pediatricians and school nurses love it. Over the last five years, nearly 750 families have participated in the program."
Families may be eligible for health insurance reimbursement for program cost ($250). The next session starts in June at the following YMCA branches:
• Delaware, 2564 Delaware Ave.: June 23 to Aug. 29 (6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays; 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays)
• Ken-Ton, 535 Belmont Ave., Kenmore: June 24 to Aug. 29 (7:15 to 8:15 p.m. Wednesdays; 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. Saturdays)
• Northeast, 4433 Main St., Amherst: June 24 to Aug. 29 (6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Wednesdays; 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays)
• Southtowns, 1620 Southwestern Blvd., West Seneca: June 24 to Aug. 29 (6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Wednesdays; 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays)
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