getting a healthy perspective by Ray Ochromowicz, CPRP a director's eye view

28 - Illinois Parks and Recreation

It's been on the front page of the newspapers, on the 10:00 o'clock news and written about in every one of our professional journals from Parks & Recreation magazine to Club Industry, Athletic Business to Recreation Management. Americans, as a group, are unhealthy and overweight to the point that we now have a health crisis.

As park and recreation and fitness professionals, shouldn't we be taking a lead role in rectifying this condition? Some say we are by offering recreation and physical activities. Yeah, we do that, but that's not leadership. Leadership is active not passive.

Why do cookies and cakes remain the most popular treat for park district pre-school graduations? Maybe because we aren't giving parents a list of more appropriate food items for them to bring.

How about the after-game soccer treats? Are coaches still handing out junk food and sugar-loaded drinks? Have your swimming pool and little league concession menus changed, or do they remain loaded with hot dogs, pizza, candy and super-sized drinks? What about your restaurant facilities? Upon registration, do you hand out recommended snack foods for kids to bring to day camp?

Have you evaluated your vending machine offerings lately? You may find as many as 90 percent of the products contribute to the obesity crisis. At the Bolingbrook Park District, we scratched the surface on this topic during an administrative staff meeting. It was suggested we change vending machine selections so kids don't have unhealthy snack choices, and we talked about sacrificing vending revenue to combat this national crisis. After all, schools are examining their menu and vending choices, shouldn't we?

Imagine my surprise just days later. The following Saturday the district held its all-staff summer training. Once the two hundred and fifty part-time and summer employees checked in, they were welcomed to a continental breakfast: coffee, juice and donuts. Krispy Kreme, no less!

If we are leaders in the health, fitness and recreation world, why haven't we replaced our own menu selections with healthier alternatives?

Some communities are considering legislating "approved" snack foods and drinks. That's commendable, but problematic. The regulations, to

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The Bolingbrook Park District Strategy • Change vending machine choices. • Increase healthier food options at concession stands and the golf course restaurant. • Distribute "healthy snack" recommendations to day camp participants and youth sport registrants. • Write and publish articles drawing attention to the overweight problem and the value of recreation, exercise and nutrition. • Post articles on the topic in community centers and fitness centers. • "Can" the donuts at meetings and gatherings. • Promote the benefits of recreation.

be meaningful, would have to be enforced and consequences (penalties) would have to be levied.

As an alternative, the Bolingbrook Park District is now focused on making its constituents and affiliates aware of the obesity crisis and offers advice to combat it. Articles have appeared in district newsletters and program brochures as well as in the local newspaper.

But beyond educating those who use our park facilities, we haven't accepted the message for ourselves. We continue to offer up the free donut at every meeting.

Why? Because learning has four levels:

1. Awareness

2. Knowledge

3. Action, and

4. Return on investment.

Unfortunately, most park and recreation professionals have only reached the awareness stage about nutrition. Unless there is an effort to learn more about the crippling and rippling effects of obesity on the individual and our economy, there is little hope of action.

Without action, nothing changes.

Physical activity, diet and genetics affect body weight. Park and recreation professionals have a good understanding of the value of physical activity. We do an excellent job offering fitness and sports programming and a pretty good job explaining the benefits of physical activity. But we are not nearly as good as our fitness industry peers at programming and educating the value of nutrition and healthy eating.

On that Saturday I was beside myself trying to figure out how the words we spoke days earlier stood in stark contrast to the action of that morning. I learned a lesson. Talk is cheap! It takes effort to turn words into action.

We had a chance to make a difference.

We failed that time.

We won't next time.

Will you?

Ray Ochromowicz is the director of the Bolingbrook Park District.

30 - Illinois Parks and Recreation

Fast Facts about Fat The Overweight Child Defined According to Rebecca Unger, MD, and a team of researchers writing for The Child's Doctor "overweight is defined with reference to a body mass index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. A child or adolescent is considered 'overweight' when the BMI is at or above the 95th percentile in respect to the latest gender-specific BMI-for-age growth charts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When the BMI is at or above the 85th percentile and less than the 95th percentile, a child or adolescent is identified as being 'at risk for overweight.'"

A Disturbing Trend

Overweight Children and Adolescents in the U.S.

Percent of population (standard error)
	1963-1965	1966-1970	1971-1974	1976-1980	1988-1994	1999-2000
Boys age 6-11	4.0	—	4.3	6.6	11.6(1.3)	16.0(2.3)
Girls age 6-11	4.5	—	3.6	6.4	11.0(1.3)	14.5(2.4)
Both sexes age 6-11	4.2	—	4.0	6.5	11.3(1.0)	15.3(1.7)
Boys age 12-19	—	4.5	6.1	4.8	11.3(1.3)	15.5(1.6)
Girls age 12-19	—	4.7	6.2	5.3	9.7(1.1)	15.5(1.6)
Both sexes age 12-19	—	4.6	6.1	5.0	10.5(0.9)	15.5(1.2)

¹Data from 1966-1970 are for adolescents 12-17, not 12-19.

SOURCES: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination

Survey, Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1982-84), and National Health Examination Survey (1963-65 and 1966-70).

Overweight Kids in Illinois

The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children cites the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 1988-1994 as its source for reporting the following figures.

	Percent of population
	At Risk for Overweight	Overweight
Boys and girls age 2-16	12.8	12.6
Boys and girls age 2-5	19.6	8.4
Boys and girls age 6-10	11.1	18.5
Boys and girls age 11-16	17.9	26.2

Overweight Kids in Chicago

The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children studied 1,208 children in 25 area schools in 2003 and found that younger children in the Chicago area were two and a half times more likely to be overweight than children nationwide.

	percent of population
	At Risk for Overweight	Overweight
Boys and girls age 3-7	15.0	23

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