Raisin' standards: the California Raisins "pump up" the nation's youth with a new physical education program - Sixth Annual Youth Fitness Section

American Fitness, July-August, 1992 by Lori Smudsky, Hilary Hanson

The California Raisins "pump up" the nation's youth with a new physical education program.

A new elementary school fitness program championed by the "California Raisins' and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (KPFS), is showing its muscle in the nation's schools.

The program, called "Raisins' Youth Fitness," presents creative exercises in a fun and non-competitve environment. Children perform "kangaroo hops" and "seal crawls" along with aerobic games, anatomy, health and nutrition lessons.

In five test cities last year, Raisin' Youth Fitness dramatically improved fitness test scores among participating urban, suburban and rural schools. Overall results showed a 20% jump in fitness and increased enthusiasm toward physical education. Since then, the program has been expanded nationally and is free to all interested elementary school teachers.

"The results are extraordinary," says Arnold Schwarzenegger, chairman of the President's Council. "American children have not improved and in some cases have gone downhill physically over the past 10 years. This program shows we can not only stop the decline, we can reverse it.'

Raisin' Youth Fitness is the latest effort by the California Raisin Advisory Board (CALRAB) to improve the overall health of the nation's youth. "We saw fitness statistics on American children that were truly alarming," says Linda Wood, assistant director of advertising and promotion for CALRAB. "We feel it is important to try and turn that around. Our program evaluations show a change occurring; children are developing good attitudes about fitness, health and nutrition with this program."

California raisins fit into the new healthier lifestyle as a good alternative to less healthy snack foods. But Raisin' Youth Fitness also capitalizes on the fun image portrayed by the California Raisin characters to get children and teachers excited about fitness. "I had fun because the teachers made us do different exercises and because you didn't just get bored," commented one student from Indian Creek Elementary School in Indianapolis.

Teachers were equally enthused. "It was fun to teach this program,' says a classroom teacher from Vinedale Elementary School in Los Angeles. "The children learned the importance of exercising and how fun it can be."

Raisin' Youth Fitness was tested in schools with widely differing approaches to physical education. Some had full-time, certified P.E. teachers. Others had P.E. facilitators supervising classroom teachers. Many schools, because of budget cutbacks, relied solely on classroom teachers to teach P.E. during free periods. The good news is that improvements were seen across the board, regardless of the teaching situation.

Program co-developers Kirk and Nancy Lawrence attribute the favorable results to easy-to-follow lesson plans and the non-competitive nature of the activities. "This new approach to fitness makes exercise a fun and personally rewarding experience for the students,' says Kirk. "By focusing on individual improvement rather than competition we've been able to motivate kids who often fall to the sidelines in traditional P.E. classes."

Raisin' Youth Fitness will be implemented in elementary schools in cities nationwide, including Nashville, Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Indianapolis and Fresno. Also attracting the attention of Children's World Learning Centers (a national child care organization), Raisin' Youth Fitness will be taught in more than 450 learning centers nationwide, helping to keep kids fit during summer vacation.

The program is available free to educators nationwide, by writing to Raisin' Youth Fitness, 55 Union Street, San Francisco, CA 94111. N

Lori Smudsky and Hilary Hanson are freeelance writers living in San Francisco, California.