NORWICH – The YMCA has never been an organization to shy away from an issue it found too complex. It is proving that once again by taking part in the National YMCA program to ‘Activate America.’ The Y will take little steps and hope that they amount to some serious changes.
“The initiative is the YMCA’s response to America’s growing obesity, chronic disease and health care crisis,” a YMCA newsletter said. Norwich Family YMCA Director James Mullen explained the program, saying “the goal of the National YMCA initiative, Activate America, is to make the community healthier.”
After seeing the results from a study collaborated on by the Center for Disease Control, National YMCA, Harvard Medical and Stanford Medical, it is obvious the country is in a health epidemic. “The study showed that for the first time since they began keeping records, a child’s life span is now shorter than that of their parent’s,” Mullen said.
Reasons for the shorter life span are many, and include high childhood obesity rates and increased numbers of children being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. “You don’t see outdoor activity like you used to,” Mullen said. Increased amounts of high calorie, high fat foods and oversized potions teamed with the decrease in physical activity are taking a toll on the health of Americans.
The Activate America initiative has three key components. Organizational improvements will enhance the YMCA’s effectiveness in working with both adult health seekers and their families and school-aged children and their families. Community leadership contains two YMCA programs. The first program, Pioneering Healthier Communities, reduces community barriers and increases support for healthy living. The second program, Healthy Kids Day, encourages children to embrace behaviors that support healthy living. The third component of the program is strategic partnerships, which will magnify the impact of both of the other components of they initiative by partnering with key organizations.
“As an organization, we’re trying to take baby steps to work toward becoming a more healthy facility,” Mullen said. Youth Coordinator Bonnie Tiffany has begun serving healthier snacks to the children in the daycare facility. At 3 or 4, pre-school students can begin taking swimming lessons. The Y hired a New York State certified physical education teacher last year to work with the children. The class gets the children moving and also works on developing their motor skills. “At age 3 or 4 we try to instill activity instead of video games,” Mullen said. The Y has also taken steps to realign its soda machines. There is still a machine that offers soda, but the majority of the machines have been stocked with water and juice. The Y has also attempted to promote family togetherness by allowing for more time in the pool and in the kids gym.
“Activate America is not just a program,” Mullen said. “It’s a lifestyle change.” According to the Y director, for a change to take place a multitude of agencies are going to need to work together to address the issue. “In the future, I think we’re going to see a multitude of agencies – schools, hospitals, health networks and the YMCA – all working together. This is going to have to be a societal change,” Mullen said.