Fat Control: Mission Possible

Imagine hearing the music to Mission Impossible.  Now imagine yourself and your team hunting around for pictures of low-fat foods among pictures of cakes, ice cream, bacon, chips, and soda.  Your mission is to control the amount of fat you eat by picking foods low in fat and calories.  This is the message given to participants of the Ho-Chunk Youth Fitness Program (HYFP) during the nutrition portion of a typical class.

After learning how fat in foods contributes to weight gain and then enjoying a healthy yet tasty snack (Suntanned Snowman Salad), the participants are back in the gym to do a zoo animal obstacle course before learning how their hearts work.  This is an example of an average session of fitness.

Through creative, fun, hands on learning, participants in HYFP are taught how to be more active and make smart eating choices.  From learning how to lower blood pressure with potassium rich foods to figuring how long it takes to burn off the calories of one candy bar, participants are given the tools to make small lifestyle changes in hopes of reducing their risk for type-2 diabetes and other diseases.

The program not only benefits participants but parents and family members as well.  Through interactive parent night educational sessions, grocery shopping tours, and family activity events such as a swimming day, parents are provided with nutrition and fitness information.  Experts say that the success of treating an overweight child is in part due to how much parents can influence changes in their child’s behavior.  With this in mind, parental involvement is a key component of HYFP.

The Ho-Chunk Youth Fitness Program is open to overweight children ages 6-18 and their families.  It operates in the Wisconsin Dells/Baraboo area at the House of Wellness and in Black River Falls at the District One Community Center.  Classes are offered after-school twice a week for 90 minutes each class.  If you would like more information or are interested in enrolling your child, please contact Charmaine Garry or Amy Meinen at (608) 355-1251 for the Wisconsin Dells/Baraboo program.  For the Black River Falls program, contact Sara Peterson at (715) 284-9851.