EYE ON THE PROFESSION

Combating Generation XXL

William J. M. Wald IPRA Chief Executive Officer

This February I had the pleasure of traveling to Washington DC with about twenty others to attend the National Recreation and Park Association's National Legislative Forum. Seeing so many advocates for parks and recreation in one place made me proud to be a part of this great field.

In addition to networking with colleagues from across the country and discussing pressing issues with legislators, I came home with a mission.

Did you know that one in every five children in this country, ages 2 through 16, is classified as being obese? A report given by Dr. Bill Haskell of the Stanford University School of Medicine put things into perspective when he shared his findings on childhood obesity at the forum.

It is concerning. With all of the outstanding recreational opportunities that children in America have access to, I cannot believe that this epidemic is spiraling out of control. Dr. Haskell made a comment that really hit home: "We need to create a 'Generation Play.' If we don't get behind this kind of change, we are going to have Generation XXL - extra, extra large."

Health wise, many of our youth are headed down a destructive path that begins with their inactivity. We are faced with a challenge to get kids back in shape. We need to get children playing - not video games - but playing outdoors in our parks, in our facilities and in our backyards.

As professionals in the field of parks and recreation, we need to be strong advocates of healthy lifestyles. Sometimes I feel like I'm preaching to the choir when I talk about this, but much work is needed to educate, control and eliminate the obesity epidemic our children are facing.

How Can You Help

The Illinois Park and Recreation Association and the National Recreation and Park Association can help you access numerous resources to assist you in your local fight against

childhood obesity. The IPRA resource library is going through a complete overhaul right now, but soon members will be able to find the resources and tools needed to make changes in their agencies and their communities. I invite you also to go online to the NRPA's site at www.nrpa.org, where several resources are ready for your access.

Camp Fusion

The Illinois Park and Recreation Association has recently partnered with the American Cancer Society to develop the Camp Fusion program to combat obesity among children. Camp Fusion is a one-of-a-kind program geared toward recreation professionals, especially day camp counselors, that educates children about eating healthy and exercising in a fun way. The IPRA will be making the extensive Camp Fusion kit, which includes everything from turnkey activity and craft ideas to nutrition-based recipe cards, available to its members online as a downloadable PDF and as a hard copy kit.

With obesity on the rise in the United States, it is so important that we focus on physical activity and nutrition with our children. Camp Fusion makes planning youth activities fun, while providing valuable health and nutrition benefits.

Look for Camp Fusion information on the IPRA web site at www.ILipra.org.

We need to get children playing - not video games - but playing outdoors in our parks, in our facilities and in our backyards.

March 2007/Illinois Parks/8

The Partnership For Play Every Day

In a voluntary and collaborative initiative of unprecedented scope, the YMCA of the USA, the National Recreation and Park Association and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education are working together as conveners of The Partnership for Play Every Day to increase the spaces and quality of play for our country's children and youth.

The partnership's focus is to bring together the public, private and non-profit sectors to advance policies, programs and practices that ensure all children and youth engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin has joined forces with the partnership and is sponsoring the Promoting Lifelong Active Youth Every Day or "PLAY Every Day" bill that would require federal agencies to support the development of a measurement tool to assist communities in identifying strengths and gaps in policies and programs for physical activity for children and youth. The bill would also authorize federal agencies to fund model communities of play to develop action plans that promote increased opportunities for quality play, spaces for play and voices for play.

Visit playeveryday.org for more information about this exciting new program designed to get children active.

Step Up to Health Online Training

The NRPA launched the Step Up to Health initiative as a result of its Hearts 'N Parks field study. Step Up to Health is an effort to help agencies and agency professionals mobilize their communities for the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Since February 2005, more than 2,250 people attended 32 Step Up to Health summits. The basic premise of the initiative is to help organizations improve and add value to their existing assets and programs in order to engage citizens at the individual, family, neighborhood and community levels.

The basic Step Up to Health daylong training has been now transformed into a three-hour online training resource for staff and citizen leaders. It offers a field-tested curriculum to increase awareness and knowledge about the health impacts of physical inactivity and poor diet. It also focuses on proven strategies and best practices to combat sedentary lifestyles.

Once you've completed your training, you'll receive custom resources from NRPA to put your knowledge into practice.

Visit www.nrpa.org/healthtraining for more information.

LocateAPark.com Online Park Mapping Tool

lllinoisans looking for a way to recreate, get in shape, become more social and simply have fun now have a place to go online for help. LocateAPark.com is a resource of the Illinois Park & Recreation Association to assist people from all over the state in finding quality recreational opportunities.

People can search for parks and places to play either by map or by the name of the agency for nearby park district and forest preserve districts. Upon viewing an area of interest, users will be able to see IPRA member agencies designated with a pin-point image. Clicking on the pin-point activates a pop-up description including name of the agency, address and web address for additional information. Users can also get driving directions to and from the location - helping them find their way.

Share Your Ideas

I hope that you will join me in the fight against childhood obesity and the threat of Generation XXL. As leaders in the park and recreation field, I challenge each of you to make strides toward changing the face - and waistline - of our youth.

I'd like to invite you to share your ideas, programs and resources that you've implemented in your community regarding fighting the childhood obesity epidemic. E-mail me at bill@ILipra.org to begin growing our resources and tools in the fight against Generation XXL.

The summer is quickly approaching and our pools and parks will be in full swing. How will you make a difference in a child's life so he or she doesn't head down a path of hardships caused by a life of obesity?

March 2007/Illinois Parks/9