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Congresswoman walks the walk with students
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| National competition: Danny Carvajal of the Humana Foundation explains the importance of keeping active. (Thelma Grimes/photo.) |
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, D-District 8, is doing more than just passing bills in Washington over the next month, since every step she takes will count toward a national competition that students from Benson Middle School are trying to win.
On Thursday, the Humana Foundation visited Benson schools to explain to the 20 students wearing pedometers that they are now involved in a national competition to decrease childhood obesity and get students moving.
Mark El-Tawil explained that the Humana Foundation partnered with elected officials from Congress to begin the American Horsepower Challenge. The students and congress members who take the most steps during the next month will win a $5,000 grant for their school.
Benson students received their pedometers April 29, and El-Tawil explained that as they take more steps, their school earns more points, and they can check the progress of the competition on www.horsepowergame.com.
Danny Carvajal of the Humana Foundation said the pedometers are computerized and students can log on to the Web site every day to see how they are doing compared with other schools in the state and across the nation. As they take more steps, they also earn more privileges.
The Web site is similar to an online video game. The more steps, the more money the students earn to buy various items in the video game and to make upgrades to the bus they are traveling in.
On the Web site, the students travel as a group inside what looks like a regular school bus. As they walk more, they improve how the bus moves along the tour route.
Every 100 steps is another $1 the students earn on the Web site.
As they progress, they are seeing some of the world's biggest tourist attractions and historic landmarks. As they advance, every new place has a history for students to read and learn as they become more physically fit.
El-Tawil said the Humana Foundation contacted members of Congress to see if they would be interested in getting involved in addressing what has become a big problem in America and the world.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), childhood obesity has more than tripled during the past two decades, with 34 percent, or 9 million, of America's children now overweight.
In addition to those already overweight, another 15 percent are at risk of becoming overweight. The trend of obesity in America is alarming enough for adults, but experts now say they are looking at the younger generation and worrying about what the future holds.
Dr. Carter Mayberry of Benson said more studies say that parents are going to outlive their children due to the health risks associated with obesity. More children are being diagnosed with diabetes, more are facing heart problems and if the trend continues, more will enter adulthood with several strikes against them.
The Humana Foundation said obesity is a major cost to the U.S. health system, with an estimate of every overweight pound costing an extra $19.39 in individual healthcare costs, and $127 billion of the national health care bill is attributed to costs related to excess weight and obesity.
The Horsepower Challenge is a first step to addressing the problem, Carvajal explained. While students in Benson will be tracking their steps in competition through May 22, he said he hopes this becomes an annual tradition and a first step toward taking even more drastic measures to solve the problem.
The 20 sixth-grade students competing for Benson Middle School this year will also compete at the same time next year as seventh-graders if the program is successful.
Marae Mattice is one of Benson's sixth-graders participating in the program. She said she couldn't say how much she walked in the first week because her pedometer malfunctioned, but once it got to working she found she was walking less than expected.
Now, Mattice said she is trying to keep moving as much as possible. She is moving her feet while working on assignments at her desk, and she said her teachers are allowing her to occasionally take laps around the classroom.
While the 20 students selected are competing against 20 other schools and members of Congress nationwide, El-Tawil told all the sixth-graders attending the special assembly that they need to get moving, and classmates not selected to wear a pedometer must encourage those 20 students to push Benson to the top.
Conducting an experiment, El-Tawil had all the students walk in place for one minute and count their steps. Many students were surprised they walked more than 100 steps, and some made it to 200.
However, Carvajal stressed that it's not only the students competing. He told them Giffords has to keep her end of the bargain and increase her physical activity. Giffords is competing against 20 other members of Congress, and after a week, was in 10th place as of Monday. Among Arizona Schools, Benson was in first place Monday, taking more than 927,000 steps.
The public can also track the school and Giffords' progress by logging on to www.horsepowergame.com.
U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, D-District 8, is doing more than just passing bills in Washington over the next month, since every step she takes will count toward a national competition that students from Benson Middle School are trying to win.
On Thursday, the Humana Foundation visited Benson schools to explain to the 20 students wearing pedometers that they are now involved in a national competition to decrease childhood obesity and get students moving.
Mark El-Tawil explained that the Humana Foundation partnered with elected officials from Congress to begin the American Horsepower Challenge. The students and congress members who take the most steps during the next month will win a $5,000 grant for their school.
Benson students received their pedometers April 29, and El-Tawil explained that as they take more steps, their school earns more points, and they can check the progress of the competition on www.horsepowergame.com.
Danny Carvajal of the Humana Foundation said the pedometers are computerized and students can log on to the Web site every day to see how they are doing compared with other schools in the state and across the nation. As they take more steps, they also earn more privileges.
The Web site is similar to an online video game. The more steps, the more money the students earn to buy various items in the video game and to make upgrades to the bus they are traveling in.
On the Web site, the students travel as a group inside what looks like a regular school bus. As they walk more, they improve how the bus moves along the tour route.
Every 100 steps is another $1 the students earn on the Web site.
As they progress, they are seeing some of the world's biggest tourist attractions and historic landmarks. As they advance, every new place has a history for students to read and learn as they become more physically fit.
El-Tawil said the Humana Foundation contacted members of Congress to see if they would be interested in getting involved in addressing what has become a big problem in America and the world.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), childhood obesity has more than tripled during the past two decades, with 34 percent, or 9 million, of America's children now overweight.
In addition to those already overweight, another 15 percent are at risk of becoming overweight. The trend of obesity in America is alarming enough for adults, but experts now say they are looking at the younger generation and worrying about what the future holds.
Dr. Carter Mayberry of Benson said more studies say that parents are going to outlive their children due to the health risks associated with obesity. More children are being diagnosed with diabetes, more are facing heart problems and if the trend continues, more will enter adulthood with several strikes against them.
The Humana Foundation said obesity is a major cost to the U.S. health system, with an estimate of every overweight pound costing an extra $19.39 in individual healthcare costs, and $127 billion of the national health care bill is attributed to costs related to excess weight and obesity.
The Horsepower Challenge is a first step to addressing the problem, Carvajal explained. While students in Benson will be tracking their steps in competition through May 22, he said he hopes this becomes an annual tradition and a first step toward taking even more drastic measures to solve the problem.
The 20 sixth-grade students competing for Benson Middle School this year will also compete at the same time next year as seventh-graders if the program is successful.
Marae Mattice is one of Benson's sixth-graders participating in the program. She said she couldn't say how much she walked in the first week because her pedometer malfunctioned, but once it got to working she found she was walking less than expected.
Now, Mattice said she is trying to keep moving as much as possible. She is moving her feet while working on assignments at her desk, and she said her teachers are allowing her to occasionally take laps around the classroom.
While the 20 students selected are competing against 20 other schools and members of Congress nationwide, El-Tawil told all the sixth-graders attending the special assembly that they need to get moving, and classmates not selected to wear a pedometer must encourage those 20 students to push Benson to the top.
Conducting an experiment, El-Tawil had all the students walk in place for one minute and count their steps. Many students were surprised they walked more than 100 steps, and some made it to 200.
However, Carvajal stressed that it's not only the students competing. He told them Giffords has to keep her end of the bargain and increase her physical activity. Giffords is competing against 20 other members of Congress, and after a week, was in 10th place as of Monday. Among Arizona Schools, Benson was in first place Monday, taking more than 927,000 steps.
The public can also track the school and Giffords' progress by logging on to www.horsepowergame.com.
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