Why CACO?

Obesity puts kids at risk for medical problems that can affect their health now and in the future. These include serious conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol — all once considered adult diseases.

Overweight and obese kids are also at risk for:

• bone and joint problems
• shortness of breath that makes exercise, sports, or any physical activity more difficult. This also can make asthma symptoms worse or lead kids to develop asthma.
• restless sleep or breathing problems at night, such as obstructive sleep apnea
• a tendency to mature earlier. Overweight kids may be taller and more sexually mature than their peers, raising expectations that they should act as old as they look, not as old as they are. Overweight girls may have irregular menstrual cycles and fertility problems in adulthood.
• liver and gallbladder disease

Cardiovascular risk factors (including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes) that develop in childhood can lead to heart disease, heart failure, and stroke in adulthood. Preventing or treating overweight and obesity in kids may help protect them from these problems as they get older. 

The plan is to use Central High School’s gym as the facility for us to introduce the calisthenics, plyometric and speed and agility drills. Utilizing a variety of equipment ranging from hurdles - medicine balls we’ll teach the kids how to perform the activities properly. Our coaches will warm the kids up using dynamic exercises and stretches. Each week we’ll go over several drills or exercises until we get the entire battery of activities installed. Once all the activities are installed the coaches will use games and competitions as a way to keep the students engaged. I’d like to have a smoothie machine, fruit salads, yogurt parfaits, trail mix, celery and peanut butter as the healthy snack alternatives. Finally the Coaches Against Childhood Obesity will invite guess speakers to come into encourage the kids and give examples of how starting young can lead to a lifetime of healthy choices.

Yours in Fitness

Rich Drayton 

Director of Coaches Against Childhood Obesity