If you’re expecting to see SpongeBob SquarePants this Saturday, you’ll have to tune in to Nickelodeon a little later than usual. The children’s broadcaster will be suspending programming on all of its networks — Nick, Noggin, Nick GAS and Nicktoons — for three hours in honor of the fourth annual Worldwide Day of Play and in a continued effort to get children off the couch.
After the programming fast and, no doubt, the celebrated return of he who lives in a pineapple under the sea, the finale of “Let’s Just Play Go Health Challenge” will air. The program features two 13-year-olds who took a six-month challenge to be more active and get healthier. Kenderick from Arkansas and April from Pennsylvania have led the way as nearly 750,000 children have pledged to lead healthier lives through the Nickelodeon website.
Nickelodeon launched this campaign four years ago when research indicated a significant decrease in the amount of time kids spent being physically active each day. While there is no single reason that the state of active play in America has reached an all-time low, several factors contribute. Latchkey kids spend a lot of time unsupervised. Physical education classes and school recess time have declined. Many families focus on academic success or excellence in a single sport. Communities have also been limited and are no longer able to offer as many after-school programs.
During downtime, the networks will direct kids via an animated loop to go outside and be active in celebration of Worldwide Day of Play. The Nick networks will return to the air at 2 p.m. CST
What Can You Do for Three Hours?
Hosted play events will be taking place during the outage across the nation, although organizers are quick to stress a simple trip to a local playground or hike around the neighborhood are also highly recommended activities.
One of the largest Iowa opportunities is being hosted by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. Girls in first through fourth grade are invited to attend an organized play event at Jones Memorial Park in Cedar Rapids from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Participants will play games and relay races outside and learn about healthy foods they can make themselves. Girls do not have to be Scout members to attend.
Because the Boys and Girls Club of Cedar Rapids isn’t open on Saturday, young people there are celebrating the Worldwide Day of Pay today. They’ve played volleyball and dodgeball in the gym, are making their own healthy snacks and will have an afternoon of free play activities
The Stoney Point YMCA in Cedar Rapids is offering a free swim from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art will have free admission for children under 18 and is planning a day of family activities beginning at noon.
“Childhood obesity is one of our nation’s leading epidemics,” said Jennifer Koopmann, American Heart Association Marketing Director, “The work we are doing with our partners here in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City to celebrate Go Healthy Month will help engage kids in the issue by showing them how they can incorporate healthy eating and physical activity into their everyday lives. We also want kids to know that pledging to Go Healthy can be easy and fun.”
Since there is no list or calender showing all the scheduled events, organizers suggest parents phone their local organizations and facilities to find out what is planned.
The Problem is Large and Growing
Childhood obesity is one of the nation’s leading health threats, according to the American Heart Association of Iowa. Roughly 12 million kids are overweight and 12 million more are at risk of becoming overweight. More children are developing conditions and diseases that have previously been associated with adults, such as type 2 diabetes. If obesity continues to increase, many believe the current generation of children will become the first in American history to live shorter lives than their parents.
Government statistics show that Iowa’s youth are especially at risk and vulnerable to the potential chronic diseases and lifestyles that come from a lifetime of obesity. Shaping America’s Youth recently held and Iowa citizens’ summit on childhood obesity. While gearing up for that event the group announced that more than 30 percent of low-income children between the ages of 2 and 5 in Iowa are either at-risk for becoming overweight or are currently overweight. Among a sample of Iowa third, fourth and fifth graders, the group concluded that nearly 40 percent are at-risk for becoming overweight or are currently overweight.
While obesity rates nationally are increasing for all age groups, Iowans have been on the thicker side for several years. In 2002, the Center for Disease Control announced that 61 percent of Iowa adults were overweight or obese. This was a 79 percent increase in the occurrence of obesity in the 12-year period between 1990 and 2002. Iowa State University Extension service reports that one in four Iowans (24.9 percent) is now in the “obese” category, and the rate of those in the “overweight” category is increasing.
Currently, 12.5 percent of Iowa’s children are overweight, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This places Iowa roughly 2 percent below the national average, but those numbers can be deceiving.
Children ages 10 and 11 — the age at which children are most apt to be overweight, according to the study — Iowa ranks above the national average, with 22.4 percent of children considered overweight. In the next age group of 12 to 14, Iowa’s children were significantly less likely to be overweight. Those ages 15 to 17 in Iowa, however, were on par with a national average of about 10 percent being overweight.
The William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association partnered in May of 2005 to create a new generation of healthy Americans. Together they formed the Alliance for a Healthier Generation with a goal to stop the nationwide increase in childhood obesity by 2010, and to empower children to make healthy lifestyle choices. Last year, Republican presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee joined the team by appearing in public service announcements on Nickelodeon. Earlier this month, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also joined the team while highlighting a local school and announcing his own challenge for a healthier generation.
“Initiatives like the Alliance for a Healthier Generation are providing the framework for a healthier America. I am thrilled to join with President Clinton and the American Heart Association because in California we are already doing everything the Alliance supports,” said Schwarzenegger while visiting the school with President Clinton. “The foundation for a healthy lifetime is built in the habits we learn as youth. They give us the strength and the confidence to achieve more, to feel better and to succeed. These healthy habits can help give our children the future they deserve.”
