Early Tuesday Morning volunteers from many different companies joined together for one common interest, our children. Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese, it is up to us to help encourage our youth to stay active, get outside and stay healthy. Obesity is one of the easiest diseases to diagnose but could be the hardest to treat, which is why our youth need our help.
United Way along with GMC have come together to build Healthy Kid Zones in nine NFL markets as part of GMC’s Monday Night Football Tour. Tampa Florida being the second stop on the tour welcomed them with open arms. United Way chose the Drug Abuse Comprehensive Coordinating Office (DACCO) to be the location for Tampa’s Healthy Kids Zone. DACCO houses women that are a part of the program who want to live a drug free lifestyle. DACCO helps them achieve that by giving them the tools that it takes to promote positive relationships with the community and amongst their families. The women of DACCO were more than willing to break a sweat to help build the Healthy Kids Zone that their own children would be utilizing.
I am very interested in helping to teach kids good health practices. It really concerns me the rate of childhood Type 2 diabetes. The lack of education among adults on the increase of children with diabetes or at risk for diabetes is alarming (only 4 years ago I had a co-worker screaming at me in anger because she believed children could ONLY get juvenile diabetes). The more we can get kids out moving, and making healthy choices the better. (Ohmuffins, you are a hero.)
