Get Up, Get Out, Get Moving

Professional Baseball Players and Athletic Trainers Team Up with the ADA and AAOS to Encourage Kids to Stay Healthy and Fit

(ARA) - Are your kids healthy and active or do they fit into the growing number of youngsters who are overweight? According to the federal government, obesity among American children is a major health concern.

Today, almost 9 million children ages six to 10 are considered overweight -- three times the proportion just 25 years ago. And overweight children tend to grow into overweight adults with a host of medical problems, including Type II Diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, bowel cancer, high blood pressure and more.

Realizing the existence of a unique opportunity to influence change, four years ago the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) teamed up with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to launch a nationwide effort to teach kids the benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise. The program's main message: "Get out and play. It's fun."

"We are an organization founded to educate athletic trainers but have evolved to expand our mission into the communities. It's a great awareness program; one we're excited to partner with for years to come," says Jamie Reed, PBATS president and the man credited with coming up with the idea for the life altering campaign directed at today's youth.

The program he helped develop, called P-L-A-Y, which stands for Promoting a Lifetime of Activity for Youth, has evolved into a multimillion dollar campaign aimed directly at the youth of America. It includes a series of radio and television public service announcements featuring Major League Baseball players who urge kids to stay active and eat right. "Play a sport! Dance, swim, walk with a friend. Have some fun... go out and PLAY -- it's healthy," says Jim Thome in one of the PSAs that has aired in television markets across the country.

In addition to the PSAs, PLAY also involves clinics held at professional ballparks in which a select group of boys and girls are invited to come down to the field for the thrill of their lives. They learn about living a healthy lifestyle from Major League ball players and their medical teams -- people they idolize. The invitees are all kids who have raised money and awareness in their communities about childhood obesity and diabetes.

Among the players scheduled to participate in this year's planned events, World Series MVP David Eckstein, NL Batting Champ Freddy Sanchez, All-Star Jim Thome, Curtis Granderson, Brandon Inge, Tony Clark, Ian Kinsler, Ryan Zimmerman and many more.

"At our clinics, the kids learn about good sportsmanship, how to avoid sports injuries, how to stretch, how to build strong bones and how to eat healthy while at the same time getting the once in a lifetime chance to interact with some of the biggest names in baseball and the trainers who have helped make them so successful. You can't beat that," says Reed, who credits a great deal of the program's success to the support offered by its partners.

At each PLAY event, the AAOS provides an orthopaedic surgeon who talks to the kids about bone and muscle health, the importance of getting enough calcium and how to prevent sports injuries. "We feel it's critical for kids to not only learn how to hit and pitch, but what they should do to avoid injuries and build strong bones. At each event, we focus on the importance of warming up before each practice or game, and show the kids what kinds of exercise and stretches they should do. We also answer questions they have, like how many pitches they can safely throw in a single game," says Dr. Frank Kelly of Macon, Ga., a spokesperson for the AAOS.

The American Diabetes Association, meantime, supplies the expertise to help kids make good food choices. "We send nutritionists to each event to talk to the kids about healthy eating and to answer any questions they may have," says Michael Curren, field vice president for the Northern division of the ADA. "Childhood obesity and diabetes in young people are major concerns of ours. This event is the perfect opportunity to raise awareness."

"I think (PLAY) is a great program. I think it's a great message and the message is saying not only to be active, but to eat right. It's just good for just general health," says Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra who participated in last year's clinic at Dodger Stadium.

Their first year out, only three Major League Baseball teams participated in the event. This year, thanks to support from the League, there are already 14 confirmed and more are expected to join in before the end of the season.

To learn more about the PLAY program, log on to www.pbats.com or www.orthoinfo.org.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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