Action for Healthy Kids

by Diane Lofshult

Studies like the one reported above underscore why fitness professionals need to get involved in combating childhood obesity through grassroots community efforts designed to get kids moving and eating properly. One way you can make a difference is through Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), a new nationwide initiative designed to improve the health of children through better nutrition and physical activity programs in schools.

AFHK is an outgrowth of the 2002 Healthy Schools Summit convened in Washington, D.C., this past October. The grassroots effort is made up of 51 state teams (one for each state and the District of Columbia) plus a national group that coordinates the effort. Each state team is tasked with creating specific solutions tailored to the needs of its own local school districts. AFHK is recruiting volunteers from the health, education, business and local government sectors.

More than 30 national organizations and government agencies provide guidance and direction to AFHK. Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, chairs the AFHK board of directors.

“I am proud to lead an organization that is empowering local coalitions to address head-on the health challenges facing children and our schools,” said Satcher. “The AFHK initiative is working at a national, state and local level through partnerships and collaborations to make meaningful changes that can put us on the right track for improved health.”

To find out how you can help AFHK in supporting child nutrition and physical activity projects, contact the Action for Healthy Kids Web site at www.actionforhealthykids.org.

For a look at other ways to get involved, see the July-August issue of IDEA Personal Trainer magazine.