Choosing Success is Fun: Kinesiology and Health Education Camp Gets Children Fit for Life - October 21st, 2009

Campers are given time for unstructured play as well as participation in structured games. Research has shown that inclusion of both is ideal.

What’s the best way to create healthy, fit adults? Educate them on nutrition and physical fitness when they’re children.

With that goal in mind, the College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Education presents summer camps – aptly called SUCCESS camps – to introduce children to health facts in a fun, game-filled, non-threatening setting. In addition to teaching health basics, the camps build leadership skills and self-confidence, and introduce students to the university’s cultural gems.

“The SUCCESS camps have really grown in popularity,” says Dr. Michael Sanders, camp director and a lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. “This year we even had participants from four other states. The camps are open to seven to 14-year-old boys and girls and run for two weeks during the summer. Most children come to one week of camp, but if they want to participate in the second week as well, they’re welcome to do so.

"By the last day of camp, you could see the changes in children's lunch choices. Many parents mentioned that their children talked about the amount of calories in dinners at home and some of the campers actually were requesting that healthier foods be on the dinner table. As counselors, we stressed the value of good versus bad calories, and I think this was a great way to educate without making the students think in terms of 'dieting.'"

— Nicki Bohnsack, graduate student and camp counselor

“We teach them about calories taken in and calories burned and sort of turn the responsibility for making healthy choices over to them. It’s amazing how well that works. The message, overall, is that you’re personally responsible for developing your excellence and that everyone has the power and ability to do that. We want to keep it fun and to empower them, so we don’t dictate how they spend every minute. Part of each day is unstructured swim time at Gregory Gym – they burn plenty of calories in playing.”

In addition to learning about teamwork, leadership, fitness and nutrition, students also visited several museums at The University of Texas at Austin.

Students are placed in groups of five or six, with four graduate students from the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education acting as group counselors. Students receive education on health and fitness, with the instructors showing them concrete examples of the amount of fat in a piece of pizza or the amount of sugar in a soft drink.

Campers are given nutritional information for the foods that they eat each day, courtesy of the campus Division of Housing and Food, and dietary guidelines, as well as a sheet that shows the number of calories burned during various physical activities. At the end of each day the students tabulate in their own journal how many calories they took in and how many they expended.

Students were given information on nutrition and physical fitness, and at the end of each day, they tabulated the calories they took in as well as calories expended.

“The best thing about being a SUCCESS camp counselor is in seeing the children’s knowledge, self-awareness and confidence grow so much in just one week,” says C.J. Stanfill, who is studying pediatric ambulation and will begin work on a doctoral degree in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education next semester. “The camp was all about physical activity and it was a positive experience for the students because a lot of it was built around games, and each day we included structured and unstructured play. Research has shown that offering opportunities for both is ideal. The emphasis at camp was on how just being active, period, rather than sedentary is a good thing.”

Students are allowed to choose what they eat at camp and also are allowed to opt out of any games or activities if they wish to do so. According to Sanders, none of the students ever elect to sit out during an activity and normally their food choices become more prudent as the week progresses.

“The students learn how to make choices and they are able to see the consequences those choices have,” says Sanders. “In a setting like this, you do not want to direct – you want to facilitate. For example, each group is given a pedometer and at the end of each day they have to report the number of steps they’ve taken – it’s a competition and it’s up to them how they want to handle the challenge.

"When the end of the week comes and camp is over,...they don't want to leave. For them, it's been an experience they'll probably always remember." - Dr. Michael Sanders, camp director

“If I tell the groups that each is going to be given a ball and they must see just how long they can keep it in the air, they figure out pretty quickly, without me issuing rules, that they’re going to have to cooperate with one another – no one member can be the hero – and problem solve. We’re creating an environment where we allow things to occur – we don’t orchestrate or micro-manage.”

The camps not only introduce children to the ingredients of a healthy lifestyle but also to The University of Texas at Austin campus, providing tours of cultural offerings like the LBJ Library and Blanton Museum.

“When the end of each day comes, the children are beat, but in a good way,” says Sanders. “When the end of the week comes and camp is over, we see some of our campers cry – they don’t want to leave. For them, it’s been an experience they’ll probably always remember.”

—Kay Randall, University Communications, 512-232-3910

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