CHILDHOOD OBESITY: The Community Hospital teaches need to move more, eat right

When The Community Hospital asked staff to reach into the community, Debi Pillarella did just that.

Pillarella, exercise program manager at Fitness Pointe in Munster, created a program to get fifth-graders moving.

Pillarella developed the Take 5 program, a 10-week walking program that also includes lessons on making healthy food choices. The program, launched more than a year ago, has been offered in the School City of Hobart and the School City of East Chicago.

Pillarella saw some students coming to the program with significant overweight issues.

"There are a multitude of issues," she said. "It isn't just being a couch potato, but also a mouth potato. Kids have Nintendos, Xbox and other portable technology. Fast food is efficient, convenient and cheap."

The 10-week program equipped each student with a pedometer and got parents involved.

Each student in John Zunac's two fifth-grade classes at William McKinley Elementary School in East Chicago averaged 19,000 steps per week during the fall of 2004.

Zunac also instructed the students on package labels, focusing on fat content, calories and protein.

"Each day, we devised ideas to walk more," he said. "Instead of putting the books in the desk, we would put them on a shelf and walk over to get them or put them away. When we walked to the cafeteria, we took the long route. We walked around the building before they played outside."

He said the students began to get a sense that they could make better choices and didn't have to "super size" it.

Mary Beth Ginalski, principal of Ridge View Elementary School in Hobart, said she wanted to teach the class to see how it was set up.

A track was created behind the playground at school, and Ginalski offered students incentives to walk during recess or the lunch period.

"Prior to this, there was not as much movement. There are lots of state standards to cover in fifth grade," she said.

Still, Ridge View beat out four other elementary schools, averaging about 22,171 steps per week and winning a trophy.

"I think the students are more aware of health issues, reading labels and making correct choices about food. They also learned it's fun to walk," Ginalski said.