| Michigan Program fights American Indian obesity
Program fights American Indian obesity
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Friday, February 16, 2007 By Melissa Burden
mburden@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6316
QUICK TAKEGetting fit
Veda Balla, program officer for American Indian education in the Flint School District, leads a running/walking club for American Indian students. Details: Balla, (810) 760-1562.
FLINT - Seventh-grade sisters India and Taylor Johnson have one goal for Saturday - crossing the finish line.
The students at Flint Southwestern Academy's McKinley school annex plan to participate in their first road race, the Sweetheart 5K run/walk in Flushing.
Completing the 3.1-mile feat is a goal the that Johnson girls, India, 12, and Taylor, 13, likely wouldn't have had if not for Veda Balla.
Balla, program officer for American Indian education in the Flint School District, started a running/walking club last spring for students in the Flint Indian Student Organization after her own dramatic weight loss.
By watching her diet and introducing running and walking, Balla shed about 80 pounds from her more than 200-pound frame the past few years.
So she thought, why not involve the children in this, too?
"Obesity has been a problem in the Indian community," she said.
American Indian adults are less likely than white and Asian adults to be at a healthy weight and often don't participate in physical activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 10 students in grades seven through 12 are active in the club, though only four were in attendance at Wednesday's training.
"If you get a few core kids interested, sometimes it can be infectious," Balla said.
Students who train usually meet once a week and either run or walk laps in hallways or around the gym at the Zimmerman Center. For a cultural warm-up Wednesday, Balla read from 1964 Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills' "Lessons of a Lakota."
Then it was off to the races, with Balla keeping a swift pace as she and the students lapped the center's gym 20 times for a workout of just under a mile.
"You get a benefit out of it," Taylor said, adding she feels refreshed after running and walking.
Taylor and India's dad, Darryl Johnson of Flint, said he planned to cheer his girls on at the race Saturday.
"I think it's great," he said of the club. "It gives them the opportunity to get in shape and do something for a worthy cause."
The club started training around Thanksgiving for the Sweetheart race, and some students also have participated in different races on Mackinac Island.
Race registrations are covered for students, Balla said.
Jacob Yencer, a seventh-grader at the Southwestern annex, is hoping to race Saturday. He already has one nearly 6-mile finish under his belt.
"Me and two other kids did a race on Mackinac Island," said Jacob, 13. "It was kind of exciting because I've never gone that distance before."
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