Friday, March 22, 2013 Sparrow FITKids program successful at
promoting healthy attitudes and knowledge among students Sparrow
has found that its FITKids program successfully improved healthy
attitudes and knowledge among students and its research will be
presented at Michigan State University’s Pediatric Research Day
today. The Fitness Initiative Targeting Kids (FITKids) program
is designed for K-8 students and incorporates classroom and
afterschool lessons to promote physical activity and nutrition.
Data collected during the 2011-12 school year found significant
improvement in students’ perceived ability to participate in
physical activity at home, to become a role model for physical
activity and to eat recommended servings of fruits and
vegetables. “The FITKids program demonstrated it improves
healthy attitudes and knowledge among middle school students,”
said R.J. Gibbs, Sparrow Health and Wellness FITKids
coordinator. “While we did not directly measure behavior, these
healthy attitudes are important for s