Mission for fitter kids
HUDSON Kingsley is a big kid for his age and struggles to control his weight, but he isn’t backing down in the battle.
And that makes him a prime candidate for a landmark study being run on the Gold Coast.
Project GRIT (Growth Resilience Insights Thrive) is seeking overweight or unhealthy children for a free 12-week program focused on researching and reducing childhood obesity.
It was set up by a group of experts including doctors, psychologists and dietitians associated with a private clinic, Weight Loss Solutions Australia, in response to reports 1.2 million children nationwide – or one in four kids – are overweight or obese.
Hudson, son of fitness trainer Ross Kingsley, is involved despite suffering a condition in which his knees are prone to sudden dislocation.
“Hudson’s big. At 13 he’s over six foot (1.8m) and he’s 90kg,” Mr Kingsley said.
“He knows himself that it’s hard for him to run and keep weight off.’’
Being raised in a healthy environment had heightened Hudson’s awareness of the need for him to focus on diet to compensate for physical restrictions.
“He gets upset that he struggles, but he wants to be in the program and that’s what it’s about – getting kids excited to be fit and healthy.”
Mr Kingsley said it was common for the effects of obesity and unhealthy lifestyle to make children feel like they were a burden. GRIT aims to address that too.
“Kids who might be overweight are definitely not as confident and not as active as their peers,” he said. “All kids want to play team sports but they might feel they’re letting others down if they do.”
The program is seeking children aged 7 to 12, but although that is the preferred age spread there are exceptions for special cases like Hudson.
Project GRIT is being funded by Felicity Cohen, CEO of Weight Loss Solutions Australia (WLSA), a company focused on surgical weight loss.
But even though tackling obesity and weight loss drive Ms Cohen’s business, she said her passion was beating the obesity epidemic for good.
“I believe I have a moral and ethical obligation to really consider what we are doing for future generations,” she said.
“We’re not going to run out of overweight adults. We need to create a system to prevent surgery.
“My mission is in reducing obesity in Australia.”
Ms Cohen is funding Project GRIT, with the aim of it becoming a blueprint for future programs.
To register for Project GRIT, go to wlsa.com.au/grit