West End State School gets fit4fun

fit4fun-090427

West End State School gets fit4fun

April 2009

Huff and Puff Club ... West End State School students running on the oval.

What's blue, has 1326 legs and likes to huff and puff? The West End State School fit4fun team.

The school, whose students wear blue uniforms, has embraced the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation's fit4fun program.

Over the years the school community has raised more than $20,000 for the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation to help sick kids and fund research into children's nutrition.

Every one of West End's 663 students will take part in the charity's annual fundraiser in May and the school will host the program's statewide launch on April 29.

The school will kick off its participation in fit4fun with its annual cross country in which children will run along Brisbane's riverfront.

Year 4 teacher and fit4fun convener Rod Heggie said West End had fielded teams in the program for the past seven years and this year marked the second time all of the school's students had taken part.

Mr Heggie said promoting healthy eating habits and regular exercise was an important part of West End State School's education programs.

'We have the Huff and Puff Club where children, primarily from Years 3 and 4, go out on the oval at 8.45am before school starts and spend 15 minutes walking, jogging or running around the oval,' he said.

'It settles them down because they've expended all their energy and they're ready to work. It also energises them to learn throughout the day.'

Mr Heggie said the fit4fun program was a positive way to get children to set their own health goals.

'Hopefully writing their healthy eating and exercise goals in their diaries transforms them into more permanent habits,' he said.

A recent Children's Nutrition Research Centre study into the exercise children needed to do to burn off the energy provided by the food they eat has highlighted the importance of the fit4fun program.

Dietician and childhood obesity expert Helen Truby said children often gained weight because they and their parents failed to recognise the relationship between food and the energy it gave.

'An average eight-year-old child who chooses to eat a children's hamburger, hot chips and a coke for lunch consumes a huge amount of energy,' Dr Truby said.

'What most people don't realise is that in order to use up that energy the child needs to spend three hours on an exercise bike.

'The popularity of television and computer games ensures most Australian children now lead a remarkably sedentary life and it's very easy for them to eat more food than they actually need.

'This is why a program like fit4fun is so important because it educates children about the importance of regular exercise and encourages them to think about the type of food they're eating.'

To register or for more information about the program visit the fit4fun website external page (will open in a new window) or phone 3852 1199.

Examples of the amount of exercise needed to burn off energy gained from food

Assume 25kg, 8-year-old child
MET values: games 5, bike 6, skipping 8

Time rounded to nearest 0.1hr

	Brunch bar	Pkt chips	Creme egg	Can soft drink Cola	Chocolate	Burger, chips and soft drink
weight	35g	25g	40g	375ml	25g (1 row)
calories	160	125	185	160	130	640
Playing games/running in playground	1 hour 12 mins	1 hour	1 hour 24 mins	1 hour 12 mins	1 hour	4 hrs 54 mins
Riding bike	1 hour	48 mins	1 hour 12 mins	1 hour	48 mins	3 hours
Skipping	48 mins	36 mins	54mins	48 mins	36 mins	2 hrs 24 mins