University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

CSUN Kinesiology Fitness Interns to be ‘Prizes’
for Schools Participating in Rose Bowl 5K

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Jan. 12, 2007) -- Usually, when someone participates in a 5K competition, the prize is a medal or certificate lauding their accomplishment.

But Cal State Northridge’s Department of Kinesiology, the Fitness Challenge Foundation and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) are upping the ante at a free 5K walk/run "Kids Fitness Challenge" scheduled at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday, Jan. 27.

Organizers are offering a qualified CSUN kinesiology student intern to those San Fernando Valley LAUSD elementary schools who send at least 30 students, teachers and/or parents to take part in the event. The intern will work with the schools to customize a fitness program that meets the specific needs of each campus.

"We are using this program to demonstrate on a large scale what can de done at no cost for the schools," said Northridge kinesiology professor Steven Loy, who has helped develop fitness programs at several San Fernando Valley schools over the years.

"This program is a model that could be replicated at all the CSUs and other universities across the country," he said. "It is not a replacement for the schools’ physical education specialists, but a stop gap until a budget is developed and accepted to have certified physical education specialists in all our schools."

Loy noted that formal physical education activities have been eliminated at many schools across the country as the result of budget cuts and other educational demands.

The offer of a free CSUN kinesiology student intern is open to all elementary schools located in LAUSD’s Districts 1 and 2. The event’s organizers note that obesity, caused in part by a lack of physical activity, poses a serious health threat in California, particularly to the state’s children.

Studies indicate an estimated 38 percent of California children between the ages of nine and 11 are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. Close to 74 percent of the state’s young people are unfit, and only 40 percent of its teens meet minimum daily targets for physical activity. Inactivity can lead to increased risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer and obesity.

"We need to make some changes for the health of our state," Loy said. "What better way to start than with its young people who can develop good healthy lifestyle habits that will stay with them for the rest of their lives?"

Representatives from elementary schools interested in participating in the free walk/run are scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at Strathern Elementary School, 7939 St. Claire Ave. in North Hollywood, to learn more about the program.

For more information, visit the Web site www.kidsfitnesschallenge.com, e-mail fitchallengeinfo@aol.com, or call John Wordin at the Fitness Challenge Foundation at (818) 888-7091.