Three Nebraska programs, All Recreate on Fridays, N-Lighten Kids and Summer Play Every Day have joined forces to provide free resources to schools, youth organizations, and families. The joint effort, called Kids in Motion, is designed to provide more support, bigger incentives, and lots of exciting and educational ideas for coordinators working with pre-school through middle school-age youth across Nebraska.
The main goals of Kids in Motion are:
Get kids moving and have fun doing it.
Educate youth to be active through a variety of movements - at any time and in any place.
Create a physical and social environment that encourages and supports physical activity and healthy eating behaviors.
Provide a variety of creative ideas that will support existing programs and activities to increase activity time.
Ultimately, prevent and reduce childhood obesity in Nebraska.
"Kids in Motion encourages youth, families, schools, and communities to work together, using any type of activity that works best in their individual setting," said Dr. Joann Schaefer, Chief Medical Officer for DHHS. "The goal is to accumulate 60 minutes of activity daily. This level of daily activity, as recommended by the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), helps combat the increasing obesity in the youth population." One in three Nebraska youth are either at risk of becoming overweight or are already overweight, according to a survey done by the Nebraska School Nurses in 2003. This trend often continues and worsens throughout adulthood. Two in every three Nebraska adults are overweight or obese.
All Recreate on Fridays is sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, N-Lighten Kids is sponsored by the Nebraska Sports Council and Summer Play Every Day is sponsored by the YMCA and Nebraska Children and Families Foundation. -Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services
