The statistics are alarming. It’s estimated that one in three U.S. children is overweight or obese. In the past three decades, the number of obese children aged six to eleven has quadrupled. Today, more than 12 million children or adolescents are obese and at risk for a number of serious health issues including diabetes, fatty liver disease, depression and impaired cardiovascular functioning.
The Rotary Club of Salisbury, a long time proponent of initiatives to improve the health of children, today announced it has joined forces with the YMCA of the Chesapeake and Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) in the “Healthy Us” program to combat obesity in children aged six to fourteen
The Rotary Club of Salisbury, using a Rotary International District Grant of $3,600 and $1,500 in additional club funds, has pledged its support for the sponsorship of 34 families to participate in the Healthy Us program through April of 2014. The club will also provide funding for the purchase of supplies and incentives to encourage continued participation.
Healthy Us is an 8-week program dedicated to improving the health of the pediatric community by preventing the cycle of obesity in high risk children. Families are required to participate in the program that provides them nutrition and exercise counseling, offers health screenings and ideas to modify behaviors, and continued surveillance in collaboration with their family pediatrician. A PRMC/Children’s National Medical Center pediatric hospitalist and the YMCA’s wellness coordinator jointly administer the program.
If you know of a child you feel could benefit from Healthy Us or a family that may be in need of one of the Rotary Club of Salisbury’s sponsorships, please contact YMCA of the Chesapeake Wellness Coordinator Amy Sorg at 410-749-0101, extension 23. The next 8-week session begins March 5. Space is limited.
