Exercise and Nutrition Finish First at Summer Camp
Monday October 8, 2001
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We got the idea for a nutrition and exercise summer camp after our school, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, conducted an obesity study. The study found that a large number of students were obese and not eating enough fruits or vegetables.
Recent statistics show there are close to 10 million obese children in the US. According to the National Institutes of Health, 13% of all children ages 6 to 17 are overweight. Thus, the major objective for the summer camp was to in-troduce children to structured exercise and nutrition classes.
This article is designed to help anyone plan a children's summer camp in a university or school setting. Many of the ideas here may help you set up a similar camp.
Create a Game Plan
Just like any athletic competition, a summer camp needs to have a solid game plan before any activity can begin. These quick tips from our experience will help you determine if you're ready for the game to begin.
Finding funds - To have a successful camp, there must be funds and community support in the way of sponsorship available. Be sure to ask for support in advance so you know what you have to work with.
Regulations - Policies and procedures must be followed to protect the institution, the staff, and the children attending the camp. Have a written policy/procedure form and have all participants provide the names and phone numbers of parents/legal guardians and an emergency contact in case of an emergency. It also is important to make sure parents/ guardians have signed a consent form for the child to participate and a consent for treatment in case the child is injured.
Organization - We sent letters home with the students during the school year. These letters included information about the camp and telephone numbers parents could call if they had any concerns or questions. We encouraged parents to attend the camp's activities, which gave us the opportunity to do one-on-one interventions.
Keeping records - We kept a medical record on file for each child. This record included such information as age, blood pressure (taken on the first and the last days of camp), weight (also taken on the first and last camp day), height, body mass index, the last grade completed, and whether or not the child had acanthosis nigricans. The consent forms were also placed in the records.
Activity implementation - RNs, who also doubled as camp counselors, conducted a general, noninvasive health assessment of each child. At the end of camp, children's blood pressure had decreased and, in some, the weight had also decreased.
The children performed a variety of exercises at the camp that were led by trained individuals. For example, the participants took a 2-mile walk each day. The first day of camp, it took the children one hour to finish the walk. By the end, the kids were walking the 2 miles in 30 minutes.
We coordinated nutritional sessions with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and the Texas A&M University System Nueces County Expanded Nutrition Program (ENP), which has a youth program directed toward low-income youth ages 6 to 12. The nutritional sessions started with a pretest on nutrition. Each day after that, a new topic was covered with a game activity followed by food preparation. We also played nutritional games and showed educational videos to the children.
Communication Is Essential
Based on the premise that process evaluation must take place consistently, a debriefing session took place at the end of each camp's day. All the counselors provided input related to the attention and behavior of the participants. In addition, each activity was verbally evaluated for content and the participation of the campers. New ideas were explored every day and changes were made accordingly.
On the last day, we gave the children an evaluation form so they could tell the camp counselors how they felt. All the children thought the camp was fun and the food was good. Ninety-five percent thought the classes were interesting and that they learned new things about food.
A manual was made for the children to take home at the end of the camp. This manual included all the handouts we gave them during the camp and a data sheet documenting their weight, blood pressure, and other assessments. We also created a photo album with pictures of all the children's camp activities.
The built-in flexibility of our environment helped the camp counselors be creative. New ideas were explored every day, and plans were reviewed and revised, if necessary, for the next day. Successes were shared with parents, children, and counselors. Our camp can be replicated in school settings or any organization that wants to enrich children's knowledge and experiences.
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