KIDS GET FIT

It is the goal of Kids Get Fit to help at-risk youth and their families to get healthy and have the tools necessary to stay healthy for free. The rise in obesity and diabetes in South Texas is alarming and this program is helping to bring the statistics down. Kids Get Fit also wants to provide the information the parents need on how to get their child healthy so they can become a healthy as a family.

Nutrition class is taught once a week for all participants at each location, this allows the children to
actively take part in preparing a meal or snack. The class also introduces new foods that they typically
wouldn't have tried, giving them more healthier options when they are at home. The parents are also
included at our studio for nutrition class, the goal is to teach them that eating healthy doen't have to be
expensive or time consuming. To incorporate more activity into the participants day we have a fitness, Zumba,
yoga and mindfulness classes. These classes give them variety and keeps their interests peaked thus making them excited to
come to class. The theory is that even though they are required to come to class if they are having fun then
they will put more effort in to the activity versus dreading the class and not really trying.

All Kids Get Fit instructors are certified in their area of teaching and most have their own private practices were they host classes. All of the nutritionist on staff work or have worked with the Food Bank of Corpus Christi and understand the needs lower income families face when it comes to providing their families with healthy meals. The program also has the facilities needed to host all classes comfortably and has the possibility of gaining a larger space which would allow more classes to be held at one time.

Kids Get Fit has grown beyond the one class offered at the Boys and Girls Club, the program is offered at more then one location and host more than five different classes and no longer just in the Corpus Christi area but also in Robstown. The program was also able to hold a 2 hour camp Monday thru Friday throughout the summer and a have a local running club at that time while still having its regular afternoon classes. The parents are able to get more involved with the program by not only attending nutrition class but are also allowed to participate in yoga class as well.
The need for the program expands further then the Corpus Christi and Robstown areas and Kids Get Fit wants to reach these families. Plans to start the program in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Alice and Kingsville are in progress. It is also a goal to get an after school program started in the local schools.
The clinical study that Kids Get Fit has partnered with needs more participants to get a better idea of how at-risk the youth in the Coastal Bend are to developing obesity and/or diabetes. About 20 kids have gone through the study since it has started and the physicians need at least 10 more to make a good conclusive report.