Longtime Benton County 4-H volunteer Tina Ives and son Dylan Carver have lost more than 50 pounds each since they resolved to keep active and eat better.
COLE CAMP, Mo.—It's time to get moving. That's the message of the "Move Across Missouri" program to 4-H youth and their families.
By keeping a running tally, 4-H'ers can see how a few minutes or an hour here and there quickly adds up. In 2010, more than 460 people signed up for Move Across Missouri. About 300 of them regularly recorded their activity throughout a four-month competition period. Participants logged almost 100,000 hours—nearly 6 million minutes—of physical activity.
When Tina Ives and son Dylan Carver's 4-H club started participating in Move Across Missouri last year, the club began to incorporate physical activity into meetings and events. Healthier food was served at club events: fruit kebabs instead of donuts, for example, and lean ground beef, courtesy of the Missouri Beef Industry Council, which sponsors the program.
During one outing, Ives realized she needed to do a better job of practicing what she preached. "We took them for a walk up to the top of a hill," she recalls. "Halfway up the hill, we had to stop just so I could catch my breath. I realized that I can't teach a child to eat healthy and live healthy if I'm not an example of doing that myself. I didn't feel good. I was embarrassed, and I decided it was time to get right."
Reviewed 2013-02-18