IYCA Family Member Creates ‘True Youth Sports’

Posted on: June 7th, 2010 by IYCA 3 Comments

Program Developed to Make a Difference in youth sports & Fitness

Determined to make a dent in local youth obesity rates, a Brampton fitness professional is launching what he calls the city’s first fitness camp designed exclusively to help children foster a lifelong love of healthy living.

"Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions with factors such as fast food, computers, TV, video games, all contributing to the problem," said David Kittner, founder of True Youth Sports Brampton Fit Camp.

"Over 50 per cent of our children are overweight and almost 20 per cent are obese. We’re elated to begin offering the True Youth Sports Brampton Fit Camp program to help combat this problem and to introduce kids, ages eight to 13, to a healthy fitness lifestyle in a safe, fun, and non-intimidating format."

A report released by Peel Public Health earlier this year entitled "A Picture of Health" reveals 47 per cent of the Region’s 1.2 million population is overweight or obese.

The report findings also show that many youngsters in Peel struggle with weight as a result of lack of exercise.

With obesity rates among youngsters hitting dangerous levels, Kittner, a fitness expert with more than 15 years of experience, said he felt compelled to do something about it.

This led to the idea of introducing a proper fitness camp for children that strives to instill the importance of being active early on.

"It’s sad to see how many unhealthy kids there are out there," Kittner said. "The vast majority of kids today have sedentary lifestyles even if they’re participating in organized sports activities … so offering this much needed program was a no-brainer."

Kittner said the True Youth Sports Brampton Fit Camp training system has been developed by the world’s leading youth fitness organization, the International Youth Conditioning Association, and will be delivered by certified fitness professionals who will help motivate and inspire the kids to be active and have fun.

"Our programs are designed with safety and fun in mind; if it’s not fun, kids are not going to stick with youth sports," he said.

Childhood Obesity: The Threat To Youth Fitness

Posted on: October 28th, 2009 by IYCA 21 Comments

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Childhood Obesity

Liz D:

I’ve posted a question on a local moms forum asking what parents think are the root causes of Childhood Obesity/inactivity.

Certainly the typical ideas came forth: too much fast food, lack of exercise, not getting kids engaged in good habits early.

One idea did strike me and I’ve heard other moms tell me this. Heck, I even live this circumstance now:

One serious threat to youth activity is the lack of safety in our neighborhoods. We have so much access to information that we know when a sex offender moves into the ‘hood. We also hear about creeps on the news and evildoers who have even taken a child, hand-in-hand away from her backyard to bring her off premises.

With all this scary stuff afoot, moms and dads are definitely afraid to give their young kids especially too much liberty outside.

Has anyone ever polled parents to see if this comes up? Heck, for you IYCA parents out there, is this a factor in your life? Is organized sports the only recourse people see? Is there a solution to this or at least a good rib-tickling one-liner I can give these people? (Just goofing there)

Please chime in on your ideas.

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