[Obesity Discussion]

More 10,000 steps stuff:




Kids walk to battle obesity


Josh Kelley
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 24, 2007 06:00 PM

If you come across fifth-graders in Mesa next month, odds are good they'll be walking, running or doing whatever they can to bump up the count on their new pedometers.

Across Mesa Public Schools, 6,500 fifth-graders are being challenged to take 10,000 steps a day, the equivalent of roughly five miles, as part of the Walk On challenge to get in shape during February and adopt a lifestyle that combats obesity.

More than 425 schools statewide have signed on for the program, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, which is providing free tool kits, including pedometers, to 33,000 fifth-graders registered so far. advertisementOAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1') on error resume next MM_FlashCanPlay = ( IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFla sh." & MM_contentVersion)))

On Wednesday, corporate executives and school officials kicked off the Walk On challenge at Guerrero Elementary in west Mesa, where dozens of fifth-graders walked around the school's soccer field with light blue pedometers attached to their hips.

First, the students received pep talks from schools Superintendent Debra Duval, Mayor Keno Hawker and Guerrero Principal Cort Monroe.

"The important thing about this is we become active and you get into the habit of incorporating this into your day," Monroe said. "We want to encourage you to walk more, not just in February but for your entire lives so you become more healthy."

The principal used his 84-year-old grandmother as an example of someone who adopted a healthy lifestyle.

For her entire married life, Monroe said, his grandmother has gotten up at 5:30 a.m. and walked every day.

To encourage fifth-graders to do the same, students who walk 10,000 steps every day in February will be registered to win one of 10 iPod nanos, a prize that excited Guerrero students. The school with the most students who qualify will receive a $2,500 grant to pay for a fitness-related field trip.

Dr. Gary Smethers, chief medical officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, said the Walk On challenge will help combat the prevalence of childhood obesity that has reached epidemic proportions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Smethers said, has found that one in three elementary-age students is obese or on the verge of reaching that point.

"As we become older, the . . . problems associated with that don't go away," Smethers said. "They get worse."

Particularly concerning is a rise in type 2 diabetes, a disease traditionally associated with old age.

"Now it's becoming a disease of children, and it's directly related to obesity," Smethers said.

On average, people walk from to 2 to 2 1/2 miles per day, he said. If students take 10,000 steps, they'll roughly double that average and burn around 500 calories in the process. Smethers said.

The challenge is focused on fifth-graders, but any class with students in grades K-8 can receive free tool kits and encourage students to walk.


Childhood Obesity