Annual Fit Kids program promotes healthy eating and physical fitness

Fifth graders at Onekama, Bear Lake and KND schools recently completed West Shore Medical Center's eight-week Ultimate Wellness Challenge as part of the annual Fit Kids program.  This is the fifth year Fit Kids has been offered in area schools. The program aims to teach school-age children how to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle and provides families with resources.

This year students tracked their steps towards a virtual trip to the Galapagos Islands. At the end of the eight-week session, the students enjoyed an assembly that featured healthful snacks and a video presentation about the island chain.

In addition to logging their steps using pedometers provided by West Shore Medical Center, the participants were also asked to complete weekly challenges. Students who completed all challenges and all tracking logs were given an award for completing the Ultimate Wellness Challenge.

The students who completed all the requirements were:

• Onekama: Kiara Bromley, Lauryn Johnson, Jarrod Berard, Kelly Hall and Grace Hughes
• Bear Lake: Autumn DeRidder, Johnathon Wertheimer, Sidney Dunlop, Avery Mullet, Roark Pargeon
• KND: John Schaefer, Taytum Myers

The students logging the most steps were:

• KND: Maci Podbilski
• Bear Lake: Savannah Allen
• Onekama: Michele Haske

All Manistee County fifth graders were given “Git 'Er Done” coupon books for three weeks of the program. Students returned coupons signed by parents denoting completed activities. Over 2,500 coupons were returned and entered into a random drawing for a $100 gift certificate to Oleson's to be used towards the purchase of fruits and vegetables and items tagged as heart healthy. Sharon Monnot from Sports Ink donated the funds for the gift certificate purchase. Austin Peterson, a student in Mrs. Josvai's class at Kennedy Elementary, was the lucky winner.

West Shore Medical Center is now the only hospital in the Northern Central Council of Michigan Hospital region that conducts cardiovascular risk assessments in this age group and offers the only extended school-based educational program to 5th graders in the region.