The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms what all Americans can see in our local communities: obesity is continually on the rise. Unfortunately, our children are leading the gain with adolescents ages 12 to 19 tripling their obesity rates. As the education system continues to face the pressure (95% of young people are enrolled in schools) one San Jose High school has developed an innovative approach to addressing the failing health of their communities.
With funding from a STEPS Grant award, Mt. Pleasant is able to go to the root of many of their students’ habits. Not only did they create an approach to directly effect their students- they extended their program to the students’ families, faculty, and surrounding communities.
Mt. Pleasant partnered with TotalFit Solutions to create a program that encompasses three main components to a healthier lifestyle: fitness, nutrition and education. These three components have gotten over 50 participants ranging in ages from 8-60 exercising daily at FitCamp while also participating in a Monday night community program that includes food journaling, weigh-ins, body fat measurements, and one hour seminars on topics such as: understanding food labels, nutrition 101, the importance of sleep and managing stress. This program has proven to be highly successful with some of the largely Hispanic participants losing over 2% body fat within 4 weeks.
The great success of this program lies in the comprehensive approach of not only addressing students needs, but in the inclusion of faculty, while also supporting entire families in their mutual quest to improve their cooking skills, nutritional knowledge and fitness level. This approach allows Mt. Pleasant faculty to lead by example in bettering the health and wellness of their students and surrounding communities.
For more information, or to run a program at your school contact Stacey Neil at
TotalFit Solutions (408) 227-2216.
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