Kids and Healthy Lifestyles: How Camps Can Help

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As the child obesity epidemic rears its overweight head across the nation, affecting one in five children, camps can play a vital role in the rescue efforts by being a knowledgeable, safe support system.

As the child obesity epidemic rears its overweight head across the nation, affecting one in five children, camps can play a vital role in the rescue efforts by being a knowledgeable, safe support system. All sectors of camps can offer assistance to parents and children through nutritional support, educational programs, and leadership that promotes good health and physical activity.


Research has shown that poor diet and lack of exercise are the leading causes of preventable adult death in the U.S. and are surpassed only by tobacco use. A study in the March New England Journal of Medicine found that as childhood obesity becomes increasingly prevalent, the current generation of children may “live less healthful and shorter lives than their parents” for the first time in United States history.


Many camps look for innovative, fun, tasty ways to provide healthy choices and decision-making skills to their campers and staff. The following list includes some “tried-and-true” techniques found at camps:


1. Camps teach children to alter food preferences by giving them good choices.

  • Serve only green leaf (or other dark green versus ice berg lettuce).
  • Serve whole wheat bread items in place of white (i.e., hamburger buns).
  • Serve all sauces, dressings and gravies on the side.
  • Make fresh vegetables and dips available in colorful arrays.
  • Offer whole wheat or graham crackers instead of chips.

2. Camps expose children to new foods. For example, a camp might . . . .

  • Make kiwi the “fruit of the day activity” by providing each camper a half kiwi and a spoon, showing campers how real New Zealanders eat the fruit by scooping out the fruit from its own “bowl.”
  • Serve slices of jicama and cookie cutters at the table for campers to make edible shapes.
  • Provide frilly toothpicks for eating Gardenburgers or other new item pieces.
  • Offer a cabin or table contest, giving points for numbers of spinach leaves consumed.
  • Provide a table of “Guess what it is” taste-testing food items.

3. Camps encourage eating breakfast.

  • Studies show students perform better in school and at play.
  • A healthy breakfast is a good deterrent for overeating lunch.
  • Those who skip breakfast have more problems with weight control.

4. Camps offer new exercise/activity programs. For example, a camp might . . . .

  • Offer a “new activity contest” where campers can suggest and teach a new activity.
  • Offer dance programs.
  • Offer ethnic dance/movement as an alternative activity.
  • Offer line dancing or other group dance/workout class.


5. Camps promote a “5-a-Day summer club”

  • Offer different colored fruits and vegetable pieces and toothpicks so campers can build a fruit animal shape or vegetable creation, and then eat it.
  • Provide cabin posters for tracking 5-a-day consumption.
  • Have a competition program that offers points for healthy eating choices.


6. Reduce “fast food” and junk food for snacks and side dishes (chips, cookies, candy, etc.)

  • Replace chips at meals with soy crisps or camp-made potato dishes.
  • Have a “make your own trail mix” snack activity session, providing healthy choices (dried banana or other fruit chips, nuts, raisins, Cheerios, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, toasted oatmeal or granola, carob chips).


Camps play a vital role in addressing the obesity epidemic. Children need to be given the opportunity to start and practice good nutritious habits, and camp is a great place to offer good food, great activities, positive environment, safe and secure location, and most of all, fun. Camps and parents partnering together in our fast-paced culture is definitely part of the village that helps the world raise children to be successful.


Stats

  • One in five children (10 million children) are obese.
  • It is now common place for children as young as 4 years of age to have type II diabetes, previously considered an adult problem generally related to obesity.
  • 20 percent of children do not get 2 hours of vigorous exercise per week.
  • Less than 12 percent of children eat recommended fruit.
  • Take-out food accounts for more than 30 percent of a family’s food expenditures on a daily, weekly or annual basis, across all spectrums of socioeconomic classes.
  • Obesity contributes to 300,000 deaths per year.
  • Less than 12 percent of high school students eat the recommended amount of fruit.
  • Less than 12 percent of young women get enough milk.

Sources: United States Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control.


American Camp AssociationAdapted from the article, "Kids and Healthy Lifestyles," by Viki Kappel Spain; M. Deborah Bialeschki, Ph.D.; and Karla A. Henderson, Ph.D., from the September/October 2005 issue of Camping Magazine. Reprinted by permission of the American Camp Association; copyright 2005 American Camping Association, Inc.

Richard JaramilloRichard “RJ” Jaramillo, is the Founder of SingleDad.com,
a website and social media resource dedicated to single parenting and specifically for the newly divorced, re-married, widowed and single Father with children.
RJ is self employed, entrepreneur living in San Diego and a father of three children. The mission of SingleDad is to help the community of Single Parents
“Make Life Happen…Again!”

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Richard “RJ” Jaramillo, is the Founder of SingleDad.com, a website and social media resource dedicated to single parenting and specifically for the newly divorced, re-married, widowed and single Father with children. RJ is self employed, entrepreneur living in San Diego and a father of three children. The mission of SingleDad is to help the community of Single Parents “Make Life Happen…Again!”