Jacksonville, FL (PRWEB) January 07, 2013
Helping to lead the fight against childhood obesity in our region, THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health at Wolfson Childrens Hospital and Jacksonville Childrens Commission will host a Kidz Summit — led by kids for kids — on Tuesday, January 8, 2013, starting at 3:30 pm at the Hope Haven Childrens Clinic and Family Center after-school program at the Alden Road Exceptional Student Center, 11780 Alden Road, in Jacksonville.
At the summit, select teens with the Hope Haven after-school program at Alden Road will lead their own specially designed educational session for other school-aged children on the Big Fat Industries and Couch Potato Companies as part of the curriculum of Kidz Bite Back. The Hope Haven after-school program is one of 16 TEAM UP programs administered by the Jacksonville Childrens Commission; children enrolled in TEAM UP tend to have better attendance, promotion and grades at the same schools than children who do not attend the program.
Kidz Bite Back, funded by a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Foundation, is a kid-created, kid-led and kid-spread campaign that was designed to educate school-aged students on fast food, soft drink and junk food companies (Big, Fat Industries) and national TV networks and video game companies (Couch Potato Companies), as well as the basics of healthy living. Leaders from selected after-school programs in Duval County such as the one on Alden Road are training their fellow students using a PowerPoint presentation and web-based activities, becoming Kidz empowered to be smarter consumers and make healthier choices.
Key concepts are presented in ways that are developmentally appropriate and engaging for school-aged kids, typically 10-12 years of age (but sometimes older, depending on developmental status). For instance, Kidz learn that in order to burn off a large Burger King Oreo chocolate sundae shake, they would have to push a lawnmower from one end zone to the other on a football field 124 times. Or that, on Saturday morning TV, kids see eight junk food ads for every 10 minutes of cartoons.
The growing rate of childhood obesity in our country is alarming, said Wolfson Childrens Hospital President Michael D. Aubin. Kidz Bite Back is one of the programs that recognizes and helps address the serious threat obesity poses to the health of Americas children and the importance of decreasing its prevalence not only in North Florida and South Georgia, but across the United States. We are proud to offer programs like Kidz Bite Back through THE PLAYERS Center for Childrens Health, where kids teach other kids and help prevent childhood obesity in our region.
About Wolfson Childrens Hospital
Wolfson Childrens Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, serves as our regions pediatric referral center and only hospital just for kids. The 180-bed, patient- and family-centered hospital features an environment filled with bright colors, warm smiles and the latest childrens medical technology. At Wolfson Childrens, nationally recognized pediatric specialists representing nearly every medical and surgical specialty work with pediatricians to provide care for children of all ages with congenital heart conditions, cancer, neurological disorders, orthopaedic conditions, behavioral health disorders, and more. The hospital is staffed by pediatric nurses and other healthcare professionals specially trained to work with children. Wolfson Childrens pediatric partners include Nemours Childrens Clinic, Jacksonville, the University of Florida College of MedicineJacksonville, and Mayo Clinic in Florida. For additional information, please visit wolfsonchildrens.org.
About THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health at Wolfson Childrens Hospital
Since 1977, THE PLAYERS Championship has contributed more than $ 46 million to Northeast Florida charitable organizations and causes, ranging from health care and youth education to human services. THE PLAYERS’ goal over the next 10 years is to generate $ 50 million for youth-related charities in Northeast Florida. To support childrens health and well-being in our community, THE PLAYERS made a $ 1 million gift in 2011 to establish THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health at Wolfson Childrens Hospital. The Center was created to improve the health, wellness and quality of life of the children living within the communities we serve, and to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations. In addition to promoting health and safety, THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health also represents the interests of medically underserved children at the local, state and national government levels. Our primary areas of focus include advocacy, childhood injury prevention, wellness, access to health insurance and health care, and community education.
About the Jacksonville Childrens Commission
Created in 1994 as an expression of the communitys commitment to childrenand to a vibrant, safe and prosperous futurethe Jacksonville Childrens Commission, is a semi-autonomous entity of the City of Jacksonville. Operating under the philosophy that children are assets in the making, our goal is to help Jacksonville’s families grow great kids into well-educated, independent members of the community, building a better future one child at a time. This is accomplished by sponsoring research-based programs to help ensure that children from birth to age 18 have stable, nurturing families; are prepared to enter kindergarten and succeed in school; have support and guidance during out-of-school times; and get extra help when and if they need it.
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