by Krystal Paco
Guam - It's so important that children and teens stay active
because studies show overweight youth likely become obese as adults. In the
last 30 years, childhood obesity has tripled in the United States. That's one in three
children being overweight, but some Guam
doctors estimate that local statistics are higher. Fortunately, some of the
island's schools like Machanaonao
Elementary School are making
fitness fun for their students.
Students at Machanaonao Elementary School can't wait for their Friday
afternoon PE activity. That's because they get to move and shake to Zumba
fitness and just dance, both games for Nintendo Wii video game console. Acting
principal Johansen Punongbayan says the school's nurses came up with the idea
to incorporate fitness with technology and used profits from GTA TeleGuam's Phonebook
Roundup to purchase the console and games.
"What we
have here is our Zumba/Just Dance - we do this for PE so we also incorporate
technology and health. We promote health here at this school so the students
really love it they're always looking forward to every Friday from 1 to 2 o'clock
they get to be themselves, and like you see behind me is all the fun that the
students feel. So teachers are also enjoying it so we're going to keep on doing
it," she explained.
You can hardly
hear yourself over the hundreds of screaming children who move in unison, to
the avatar. Punongbayan says the activity also gives the students a sense of
leadership because they make the song selections. It's not just the students
dancing, but teachers are in on the fun, too. "Let's think of other ways
of how students can move and incorporate health, so they started the Wii Zumba
and from then on, everybody loved it," she added.
Zumba Fitness
is a dance workout game that features nine dance styles, including salsa,
hip-hop, and mambo and guarantees that the player will break a sweat and burn
calories. Just dance is another dance video game that allows players to learn
real dance moves to songs from the past 60 years. Punongbayan says, "We
don't want just kids to go out and play, and you know, it gets a little bit
boring. We try to have it structured where they follow the rules and they also
follow the moves that's on the screen, so it helps them with hand-eye coordination
where they just follow and have fun."
In conjunction
with the fun on Fridays, Punongbayan says the school also promotes health and
wellness all week long by requiring students to bring snacks on an approved
snack listing. For parents at home, doctors recommend the formula 5-2-1-0 - five
or more fruits and vegetables, two hours or less recreational screen time, one
or more hours of physical activity, and zero-sugar drinks.
