Welcome to Wildcat Wellness
Greetings from the PE/Health Department
In nearly every newspaper, magazine and newscast there is yet another report on the prevalence of childhood obesity. What needs to happen to solve the obesity crisis is clear. To maintain a healthy weight people need to balance their diet with their activity level. People who are overweight need to consume fewer calories than they burn. They can do this by eating less, becoming more active or, ideally, a combination of both. For most people, it’s that simple. But how do we make this happen within the largely unsupportive environment of today’s society? We need to work together to deliver consistent nutritional messages and provide our children with more opportunities to be active.
Today’s physical activity recommendations call for children ages 5–12 to accumulate 30–60 minutes of age appropriate and developmentally appropriate physical activity from a variety of activities on all or most days of the week. An accumulation of 60 minutes to several hours per day of age and developmentally appropriate activity is encouraged. Adolescents should be physically active daily or nearly every day and engage in three or more session per week of activities that last 20 minutes or more at a time and that require moderate to vigorous levels of exertion.
However, on average, young people aged 2–18 spend over 4 hours a day watching television or videotapes, playing video games, or using the computer. So what can be done? We need to promote habitual physical activity and good eating from birth. We need to find ways to increase our children’s daily physical activity and balance or, if already overweight, decrease caloric intake. To do this, we must find ways to address all behaviors that can positively or negatively impact these two related goals throughout the child’s day: a day that begins when they wake up and ends at bedtime.
Please join with us in the effort to keep your child as healthy as possible. Encourage your child to be physically active. One of the best ways to do this is to lead by example. Exercising with your child is also a great way to stay connected with them. Look for family activity calendars on the back of the monthly lunch menus, seek out websites and educational oppportunities for ideas on how to eat healthy and stay active.
Together we can work toward a healthier future. Click here to be directed to the many extracurricular activities that are offered at your child's school.
Be well,
Patty Cournoyer, K-12 PE/Health
Bunnie Lubs, PE Mile Creek
Bonnie Ambruso, PE Lyme Consolidated
Tim Gavin, PE Center School
Erin Crayton, PE LOLMS
Jim Martin, PE LOLMS
MaryBeth Schreindorfer, PE/Health LOLHS
William Rayder, PE/Health LOLHS
