Most parents can't tell if their children are technically overweight. You've probably heard moms and dads describe their child as chubby or plump, but that he or she will "grow out of it." Experts say that attitude is dangerous, because it could doom a child to a lifetime of weight issues. That’s why professors at FIU's Center for Children and Families created the Hip to be Fit summer camp.
"The goal is to not only improve the fitness levels of these kids, but also to teach them about proper nutrition and work on their behaviors and school readiness skills as well," said Dr. Paulo Graziano, the director of the Healthy-Lifestyle Intervention Program.
The summer camp aspect of the program runs for eight weeks and targets children in the four to eight age group along with their families.
"Without the parents' engagement we can't really accomplish what we want, 80% of parents of overweight children are overweight themselves," Graziano said.
For eight weeks, the campers hardly ever stop moving. They wear FitBits to track their steps. If they’re not dancing to an XBOX dance game, they’re outside running through an obstacle course or playing soccer. Exercise is important, but Graziano says diet is more crucial to losing weight.
"The nutritional is by far the key, 75 percent of weight loss is gonna be tied to nutritional, plus when kids start in school they’re not gonna have time to exercise as much as they do in our camp," Graziano said.
Much of the camp time is devoted to teaching the children and their parents how to make smart food choices, how to make balanced meals, and how to keep portions under control.
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Moms and dads are invited to have lunch with their kids, and are required to come to some after-work sessions. If they’re not on board, the ship sinks, because everything the campers learn at camp must be reinforced at home.
Graziano says it’s crucial to begin this type of intervention while the children are still little, because statistics show that 80% of overweight children will stay that way, becoming overweight and sometimes obese adults. So the camp is like a course correction, heading off problems like diabetes, bullying, and body-image depression before they start.
"We try to target these kids earlier, before that teasing and those psychological problems become more prevalent," Graziano explains.
That’s why they call it an intervention, Graziano and his team are trying to make a permanent impact. Jose Franco says after six weeks at camp, his daughter has learned to make healthy choices, all by herself.
"And this becomes ingrained in her and with our support at home, this becomes a lifestyle change where she can make healthy choices for the rest of her life which will positively impact her and her health for many years to come, hopefully,” Franco said.
This is the third year of the camp, so Graziano says he has collected data that show it works. They test the kids when camp starts, when it ends, and again six months after it ends. On average, Graziano says the children improve their fitness scores by at least 50 percent, and their body mass index ratings by at least 40 percent.
They’re also empowered to conquer obstacles forever.
The challenge now is expanding the camp. Graziano’s team provides free exams during the school year to determine if kids are overweight, but he says most parents either don’t believe him when he informs them or they don’t think any action needs to be taken.
