NYSUT rolls out statewide healthy lifestyle program for kids

PICTURED: Members of the media were on hand as NYSUT Vice President Richard Iannuzzi talked about the new health lifestyle program 24-7 Let's Go! with students in Genevieve Stinson's first grade class at School 14 in Troy, New York. 5,000 students in public schools across the state are participating in the pilot program developed by NYSUT's Health Care Professionals Council.

ALBANY, N.Y. March 9, 2005 - To help combat the growing childhood obesity epidemic, New York State United Teachers, the state's largest teachers union, today rolled out a new pilot program to encourage schoolchildren to get off the couch, away from their video games and into healthy lifestyles.

The NYSUT program - called 24/7 Let's Go! - is initially being introduced to 5,000 students in public schools across the state. NYSUT's Health Care Professionals Council, alarmed by reports that today's children exercise less and eat more junk food than ever before, developed the healthy lifestyle program for use by teachers, school nurses and health care professionals to help them address this national crisis in a fun and exciting way.

"It's no secret: childhood obesity has become epidemic," said NYSUT President Thomas Y. Hobart Jr. "And obesity leads to serious health problems like coronary disease, respiratory problems, diabetes and depression."

NYSUT Vice President Richard Iannuzzi said the program is designed to start children on the road to long-term good health.

"This isn't just about helping kids who are already overweight," Iannuzzi said. "24/7 Let's Go! is aimed at helping every child develop a healthy lifestyle. We want schoolchildren to begin developing good habits now. The younger they start, the healthier they'll be."

NYSUT is encouraging classroom and physical education teachers and school nurses to use the 24/7 Let's Go! program in schools. In addition, health care professionals and others who work with children are invited to use the program to encourage the children with whom they come in contact to build healthier lifestyles. The program's goal is to encourage young students to take seven positive steps a day and track their progress by earning stickers to place on a chart. The chart has a list of 24 fun, healthy ideas that children can embrace to earn stickers.

"Every child will be encouraged to participate," said Iannuzzi. "We see this as a project for the whole class - no student will be singled out. The idea is to make good health habits fun so they actually become habits. This is not a calorie counting or weight loss contest. It's not a fad diet. It's a fun way to approach healthy eating and physical activity. We believe that the best way to reach children is through the grown-ups who see them everyday - their parents, their teachers and their school nurses."

"As educators and health care professionals, we have a responsibility to help children build healthier minds and bodies," said Anne Goldman, chair of NYSUT's Health Care Professionals Council. "The 24/7 Let's Go! program is one way to make that happen."

Each child in classes participating in the pilot program will receive a calendar with stickers, a parents' guide and a magnet for hanging the calendar at home. Iannuzzi said if the program is successful, NYSUT will expand it statewide in the fall.

NYSUT, the largest union in New York State, represents more than 500,000 classroom teachers and other school employees and retirees; academic and professional faculty at the state's community colleges, State University of New York and City University of New York; and other education and health professionals. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.

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NYSUT Media Relations

(518) 213-6000 ext. 6313 or mediarel@nysutmail.org