Special fitness/food advice for kids

Eleven-year-old Yolanda Suggs of East St. Louis is just starting out on what she hopes will be a track career like her hometown hero, Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

The Clark Middle School 6th-grader is being coached by Kersee's former school coach, Nino Fennoy. She's already earning recognition in regional meets for her times in the 100 and 400 meter sprints and 4x400 relay.

Yolanda Suggs

And, last spring, she learned about proper eating and exercise habits in classes at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Boys and Girls Club in East St. Louis. Those classes included the principles from Joyner-Kersee's new "Get Fit With Five" food/fitness program.

With Joyner-Kersee as spokesperson, Schnucks Markets is offer the "Get Fit With Five" program throughout metro St. Louis. You can get details in a special flyer in Schnucks store. The program includes Joyner-Kersee's special 30-day food/fitness challenge.

To end the promotion, 3-time Olympian distance runner Craig Virgin will lead a Schnucks/JJK 5K Bridge Run Saturday, Nov. 16. It starts at 9 a.m. and runners travel a 3.1-mile route back and forth over the Martin Luther King Bridge in downtown St. Louis.

After the run, a street festival and awards program will be held on the Missouri side of the bridge under Interstate 70.

Yolanda and other East St. Louis kids got their special health classes as a part of the full program at the JJK Boys and Girls Club. In addition to all sorts of athletic facilities and activities, the club features a computer lab, music and dance rooms and library.

Special tutoring help for academic subjects also is offered.

Yolanda said, before taking the food/fitness classes, "I ate quite a bit of chicken, both baked and fried." After learning about too much fat in her diet, she said, "Now, all the chicken is baked and I eat lots of fruits and vegetables."

LeGrant Suggs

She said peaches are her favorite fruit and her favorite vegetable is broccoli.

The "Get Fit With Five" program recommends kids eat five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Health officials say cutting down fat, sugar and salt and increasing fruits and vegetables help prevent serious illnesses like heart disease and some cancers.

Nurse Shirley Beltz at the Joyner-Kersee club helps kids remember the food/fitness rules with a simple rhyme:

          "You can have a healthy heart.
          "It's as easy as 1, 2, 3!
                    "Eat healthy stuff
                    "Move around enough
                    "Live tobacco-free"

Yolanda's younger brother, 8-year-old LeGrant Suggs, also took the health classes at the club. Asked what he learned, LeGrant said, "You should wash your hands before you eat. And you shouldn't eat too many sweets because they cause cavities."

Wynishea Hamiel

He said he stopped eating fried chicken and fast foods. Like his sister, he likes broccoli and fruits such as bananas and kiwi fruit.

For exercise, he likes football and dancing, "especially tap dancing if the floor is loud."

Ten-year-old Wynishea Hamiel said she also changed her eating habits after taking the food/fitness classes. "Now I eat more vegetables and more fruits," she said.

She said she also reads the nutrition labels on food packages. She admits she likes Cheetos snacks. But, after checking for fat content, which was 17%, she said, "That's too high."

She said she likes the exercise classes at the club. She said, "Coach (Willie) Phiffer has us do 20 jumping jacks, 30 pushups and 20 situps to build up muscles." She also likes dancing classes. But, she avoids ballet because "it's too hard to stand on my toes."

Davion Traylor

Wynishea's younger sister, 7-year-old Davion Traylor, said she liked the health lessons. She especially liked the one where the kids listened to their hearts through a stethoscope both before and after running around the room. She noticed how fast her heart would beat after the running.

As for exercise, she said she liked pushups and also liked to play basketball.

Because of the club's interest in health foods, Bob Kersee, Jackie's husband and trainer, made one decision that some of the kids didn't like. He had cheese-fries--that's french fried potatoes smothered in cheese--taken off the menu because they had too much fat.

(For more about healthy diets, see: www.5aday.com and www.aboutproduce.com).