'Turkey Trot' 5K run Thursday at Family Y
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on November 21, 2007 1:45 PM
The second Annual Woodmen of the World YMCA Turkey Trot for Obesity Awareness will be held Thursday.
The 5-kilometer run begins at the Goldsboro Family Y at 8 a.m. Participants must register beginning at 7 a.m. for the $25 entry fee. Those registering previous days got in under the $20 threshold for pre-registration. There are 74 participants so far, said local Change for Children program director Aaron Thorpe.
Childcare and children's activities are free, and donations of canned food will be welcome.
Proceeds from the Turkey Trot will go to defray expenses for the Change for Children childhood obesity program. Grant funds from the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund will end at the last of December.
Ms. Thorpe said the local Y is committed to continuing the program.
"Woodmen of the World are one of our partners, and we are seeking other partnerships and grants," she said.
She said an evaluation of the grant program conducted statewide by East Carolina University found Change for Children to be very successful in helping youngsters achieve a healthy weight through small, dietary changes.
The children participating in the local program were among 1,346 between the ages of 4 to 18 who ECU researchers looked at.
Using approaches such as nutrition lessons that encourage less sweet beverage consumption, 90 percent of the children stayed in their category or improved over the three years of study. Among overweight and obese children in the study, 51 percent improved their weight category. The Goldsboro Y offered the Change for Children program to families across Wayne County as a 12-week exercise and nutrition program. The children exercised four nights a week for an hour and received dietary counseling two times a month.
The program was a collaboration between Goldsboro Pediatrics, the Wayne County Health Department, and the Family Y.
For information, contact Ms. Thorpe at 778-8557 or e-mail at aaron.thorpe@goldsboroymca.org.