Commit 2 B Fit as applied to children ages 7-8

Problem: Obesity is one of the health challenges in the U.S. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies states that childhood obesity rate has more than tripled for children age 6-11years over the past three decades. Moreover, the Institute further says that approximately nine million children over 6 years of age are considered obese. The alarming rate has raised concerns because being obese increases the risk of many diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol. Children age 6-11 years can be targeted through school based obesity-prevention intervention. This research applies the Commit 2B Fit program in a 2nd grade class in Hollywood, Fl, Methodology. Twenty-six students ages from 7 to 8 years old participated by documenting their physical activities and intakes of fruit and vegetable in a commit 2 B fit planner on a daily basis. The teacher encourages the students to set up goals for intake, assigns physical activities for homework and gives positive reinforcement to continue. The planners were signed by parents and reviewed by the teacher. Assessment is done from the initial survey of activities and intakes sent to parents, a final survey and evaluation of the logs after a 2 months period. Research question: Does the implementation of the Commit 2 B Fit Program increase physical activity and fruit/vegetable intake in children ages 7-8?