Fun for Fitness Sake

June 20, 2008 - Last Friday’s threefold plan for Employees and their families: live well, eat well and get moving.

More than 150 people gathered for Family Fit N Fun Friday, a free event designed to help families from ERIE and Hamot Medical Center reach their health and wellness goals.

While the two neighboring businesses in Erie, Pa., have co-sponsored fitness events for children for several summers, the focus this year was on the family.

“A family’s habits have a profound effect on children’s health,” said MaryAnn Marchant, ERIE’s wellness management specialist. “There’s no better role model for children then the person who is responsible for caring for them. We wanted to provide a free event that engaged the whole family in healthy eating and exercise.”

MaryAnn and Kathy Iorio, director of the Hamot Wellness Center, created the program, which included five stations that focused on fitness, safety, self-esteem and healthy foods. There was also a blood pressure check. Certified fitness specialists, dieticians, nurses and other professionals, representing both ERIE and Hamot, staffed each post.

“We wanted our Employees at Hamot and ERIE to know that we care about them and their families,” Iorio said.

Community Health Net’s Chief Medical Officer and family physician Anthony Snow also answered parent questions as he circulated from station to station. “We hope,” Snow said, “that we’re planting the seeds for a healthy lifestyle that lasts a lifetime.”

Eat well

Nutrition Junction, one of the most popular stations, offered recipes for all ages and snacks prepared by registered dieticians Jean Ager and Mary Todd. In general, experts say that children and adults should eat a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Children should also drink water and milk most often.

“It’s important at an early age for children to eat their colors,” said Evelyn Jablonski, wife of Jeff Jablonski, insurance operations research specialist. The couple attended the event with their two children, Sophie, 2, and Samuel, 6 months.

Looking at her daughter, Evelyn said, “Eat your colors, Sophie. Isn’t that right? You’ve had yellow bananas and orange carrots today.” Her daughter smiled and nodded in agreement. “Samuel also eats his vegetables,” Evelyn added, “but he prefers them pureed.”

Get moving

IT Business Analyst Adrecia Milsap appreciated that the event was free and motivational for her five-year-old son, Malachi.

“I’m glad it gets my son out of the house and away from the video games and TV,” said Milsap. “I’m always looking for ways to improve my and my son’s health.”

Malachi took turns playing games like hopscotch and putt-putt at Activity Avenue. Meanwhile, Adrecia and other parents tried the BOSU trainer that helps improve balance and stability.

“Children are naturally active,” Iorio said. “We designed the stations so that the parents and children would have ideas for games that they could play all year.”

How much exercise do children need? According to the experts, children ideally need more than 60 minutes of activity every day. Teens should engage in moderate or vigorous exercise at least three times a week. For adults, different people require different routines, but a good goal for many is exercising four to six times a week for 30 to 60 minutes.

Exercise is a priority for the Habursky family and that’s why they signed up for the event. Steve Habursky routinely takes his five-year-old twin sons, Noah and Nathan, for bike rides on the trails at Presque Isle State Park.

“I try to exercise five days a week,” said Steve Habursky, premium audit supervisor in Commercial Processing Operations. “I rollerblade as they ride their bikes. That’s a good way for all of us to exercise, but we’re always looking for new ideas. It’s great that ERIE and Hamot sponsor these types of events.”

Service Center

View your Auto or Home Policy Summary or print Temp Auto ID Cards.