Getting fit: Help on the home front

Certified trainers help children be more active, make healthier choices.

By Jennifer Lord, Staff

“Eat your veggies. Have a glass of water instead of a can of soda. Shut off the TV, and go get some exercise.”

Nag, nag, nag – when it comes from mom and dad, right? But what if someone else was trying to motivate your child to have a healthier lifestyle?

Let’s face it, sometimes kids tune their parents out, and sometimes parents aren’t the best role models when it comes to teaching healthy habits.

But in this society of increasing obesity and decreasing physical activity, parents can find professionals to help their kids.

“Statistics from the Center for Disease Control show childhood overweight (at or above 85 percentile) and obesity (at or above 95 percentile) have tripled in the last 20 years, but you don’t need a complicated study to notice that more kids are overweight than ever,” said Nancy Carlson, co-owner of Get Fit NH Kids in Epsom.

While the problem is growing, many parents remain in denial or don’t have the will power to change.

“I think professionals have been sounding the alarm for a number of years, but we as a society are slow to respond to behavior-related illnesses,” Carlson said. “We often hear, ‘Well he is pudgy now, but he’ll grow out of it.’ That is dangerous and false in most cases. I have seen studies that show 70 to 80 percent of overweight and obese kids are overweight and obese adults.”

Carlson and her husband, Dean, are Level 1 Certified Youth Conditioning Specialists with the International Youth Conditioning Association and hold certification as Professional Fitness Trainers with the National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association.

And they know a thing or two about children, since their family includes six: Tim, 22; Jeff, 21; Derek, who died at 11 months; Drew, 5; Karalynn, 4; and Amy, 2.

In their three-plus years of working in the fitness field, most of their work has been with teenagers ages 14 to 19, but classes for children ages 6 to 13 are beginning this month.

For kids ages 6 to 9, class is a structured game time.

“Through specific games, we teach children how to run, jump, climb and move with proper form,” she said.
Working with children ages 10 to 13 includes game time mixed with some fitness training.

“If it’s not fun, and it’s just another chore, they won’t want to do it,” Carlson said.

Teenagers can take part in Get Fit NH Bootcamps with adults, or the Carlsons work with them one-on-one, often working on good overall fitness during the off-season from their favorite sports.

“We have a couple of home school families that come, and they use us as their fitness curriculum,” Carlson said.

Who’s to blame for childhood obesity?

Carlson said she can’t point fingers in any one direction to lay blame for childhood obesity. There are many contributing factors. Parents play a role. They make decisions for children – what they eat, when they go out and play, how much TV they watch or video games they can play.

“Kids are being affected by their parents’ choices at that point,” she said. “You can’t really blame a 6-year-old for what their parents put on their plate for dinner.”

Busy, working parents tend to buy more fast food, which is high in calories and low in nutrients, in lieu of making home-cooked meals.

Even going to school changes how much a child can be active.

“Ages 6 to 9 is where we find that they’ve just started school, and other than recess, they’re sitting for the whole day,” Carlson said.

Kids’ favorite hobbies have changed over the years, too. TV, movies, video games and a fascination with all kinds of hand-held electronics have replaced, for many kids, the excitement of going outside to play. Just as all these factors combine to cause the problem, improving a child’s health also includes several components.

“Exercise is part of an equation that equals health,” Carlson said. “Nutrition, lifestyle choices and fitness work together to bring a person into healthy living.”

What is the International Youth Condition Association?

Carlson said IYCA, founded by Brian Grasso, is the premier international authority with respect to athletic development and youth participant-based coaching. The association is dedicated to getting kids of all abilities involved in exercise and teaching lifelong habits of fitness.

“When you talk about leading fitness professionals, you will hear Brian’s name among the top 10, but when talking about children’s fitness, his name is the number one to be mentioned,” she said.

While many coaches train a child for a specific sport, the IYCA centers attention on a balanced approach to training. In turn, you end up with better athletes who are able to compete longer and at a higher level than those just trained for one sport.

How kids can get fit without getting burned out?

Carlson said she and her husband have been reading about Grasso’s methods for years, and when he started teaching other people, they signed up. They are currently in his second level of training.

Their approach to fitness is more well-rounded, without pushing one sport or activity too hard.

“Too many times parents focus them on just one thing, and they don’t get a well-balanced approach to their fitness,” Carlson said. “Kids can get burned out or get injured without good all-around fitness.”

Their methods are also all-inclusive. They don’t cater to superior athletes and leave kids with less athletic ability behind.

“We understand that not every kid is going to be a pro athlete, but every kid deserves the chance to participate in sport and be taught by qualified coaches how to enjoy life with physical activity.”

The Yeatons’ story – how Get Fit NH helped a home school family

The Yeaton family – parents Sherry and Dan, son Tyler and daughter Bethany – have all benefitted from Get Fit NH.

Sherry said Tyler, a home school senior who plays varsity basketball for Pembroke Academy, started working with Dean Carlson as a personal trainer during the basketball off-season.

“Dean noticed right away that one of Tyler’s shoulders was a little higher than the other,” Sherry said. “One of his arms had muscles that were more developed and stronger (through shooting mostly on that side), while his other arm was relatively weaker. Dean and Tyler were able to correct this issue.”

Tyler has attended Carlson’s morning and evening classes during the off-season. He initially thinned out, and since has added a number of pounds of muscle, as he learned to eat in a different way and worked out in class.

“This helped him on the basketball court with both endurance and strength,” Sherry said.

Tyler has gotten interested in fitness and personal training through attending these classes, and he can log the time at Get Fit NH for school credit.

Bethany is a home school junior who usually plays three sports at Concord Christian Academy – volleyball, basketball and softball.

Sherry said when the school recently changed its regulations for home school students, Bethany had to sit out the volleyball and basketball seasons while her family appealed. During that time, she was able to improve her physical conditioning by participating with Get Fit NH.

The parents have joined the fitness wave. Dan goes to an early morning class and Sherry goes to the all-women’s class at 9 a.m.

“It works for everyone – kids, moms, dads, grandparents – those who are in shape already, and those who are not,” Sherry said.

What does the future hold?

Carlson explained that many of the effects of being overweight or obese do not show up immediately. As time goes on, your body can no longer function or is in pain. That is why adults wait until after they survive a heart attack before they change how they live.

“With our kids facing obesity at an earlier age, these types of adult problems will become children’s problems,” she said. “We are already seeing this with children developing adult onset diabetes.”

An article recently posted on Get Fit NH Kids’ Web site (www.getfitnhkids.com), states:

“A rising trend of adolescent obesity is projected to result in an increase of heart disease events (including death) by up to 16 percent between the years of 2020 and 2035. (October 7, 2008; Source: USANA Health Sciences)

Obesity is more than just being overweight, Carlson said. It is a disease that in most cases can be avoided. Obesity leads to an immense amount of adult diseases that should not be found in children.

Nancy and Dean Carlson are willing to help families fight this battle. Their services include Cr8 Fitness & Health, Get Fit NH Bootcamps, Get Fit NH Kids and NH SuperMommies, a health and fitness program for expectant mothers.

Learn more at www.getfitnhkids.com, www.cr8health.com or www.nhsupermommies.com.