Area students enjoy a day full of fitness, nutrition

About 250 third-graders from Sidney, Bridgeport, Leyton, South Platte, Bayard, Potter-Dix, Banner County and Creek Valley learned about fitness and how to make healthy food choices for Kids Fitness and Nutrition Day on Thursday.

Held at the Cheyenne County Community Center and the Sidney National Guard Armory from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., kids participated in 13 different health stations, including handwashing, energy balance, healthy snacks, obstacle course, boot camp, sock wars, stretching and more. They were provided with a lunch of roast beef sandwiches from Subway, paid for by the Nebraska Beef Council.

Kids spent 15 minutes at each nutrition station, and 17 minutes at each physical activity station, taking away new knowledge about eating right and burning calories the healthy way.

The purpose of the event is to show young children how to lead a better life, according to Kiersten Richards, activities director at the center and coordinator of the event in Sidney.

"It's to show kids how to make better choices," she said.

Staffed by volunteers, each station showed the third-graders why and how to make healthy decisions before they get accustomed to unhealthy habits. According to the website for the Panhandle Public Health District, that's a good age to work with because they are learning about nutrition and are influenced by role models.

"Everybody that helps is a volunteer," Richards said. "We couldn't do it without them."

Kids Fitness and Nutrition Day is held annually in various towns throughout Nebraska. For more information, contact Janelle Hansen at the Panhandle Public Health District at (308) 487-3600.