Third grade students from the Panhandle area have the chance to learn about health and wellness at the annual Nebraska Kids Fitness and Nutrition Day that will be held in Sidney, Alliance, and Chadron. Over 350 third graders participate annually.  On October 13, 2011 the event will take place in Sidney for the southern panhandle third graders; September 22, 2011the event will take place in Alliance; and on November 16, 2011the event will take place in Chadron for the northern panhandle.

Third-graders are a good age to work with because they are learning about nutrition and are influenced by role models. 
Some of the physical activities include stretch bands, Tae Kwon Do, boot camp, tumbling, Zumba, obstacle course and yoga.  Nutrition stations teach the youth about hand washing, healthy snacks and MyPlate, the new USDA standard nutrition guidelines. 
 
The overall purpose of the event is to open the eyes of young people to consider energy balance – how physical activity and nutrition work together to maintain health.  It is said that if children can find a physical activity that they truly enjoy doing or an activity in which they excel, they may be more active and therefore more healthy in the future.

This activity is made possible by additional funding from from the the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the Nebraska Beef Council and Panhandle Public Health District.

For more information about Nebraska Kids Fitness and Nutrition Day,
please call Janelle Hansen (308) 487-3600 Ext 105or email hansenj@pphd.org.

Updated January 11, 2012