Membership

ACE Joins President Clinton in Campaign Against Childhood Obesity

The American Council on Exercise (ACE), a NIRSA Associate Member and partner, has endorsed a new initiative introduced by President Bill Clinton, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and the American Heart Association (AHA) to help curb the rising childhood obesity epidemic.

"Too many children today are at risk of developing life-threatening chronic diseases as a result of inactivity and poor nutrition," says Ken Germano, president of ACE. "Motivated by his own recent health complications, President Clinton is encouraging children to proactively take control of their own health before it's too late."

The AHA and the William J. Clinton Foundation will take their message directly to the food and restaurant industry, schools and community groups, as well as the media, in an effort to reverse the nation's disturbing childhood obesity trend.

For the past 15 years, ACE has helped educate and motivate children to get active through its youth outreach program Operation FitKids (OFK). OFK provides high quality educational materials and top-notch professional training to educators, fitness professionals, health professionals and concerned parents.

Recently, ACE introduced new youth fitness curriculum designed for third through fifth grade teachers who want to integrate health, fitness and nutrition activities into the classroom setting. The curriculum can be downloaded free from the ACE Web site.