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 held in Sidney, Alliance, and Chadron. In 2009 over 350 students participated.

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 and yoga.  Nutrition stations teach the youth about hand washing, healthy snacks and MyPyramid, 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 and the Nebraska Beef Council.

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