Wellness starts here
YMCA will host Healthy Kids Day on June 3
At the Y, one of our favourite days of the year is Healthy Kids Day.
I feel like this day really sums up what the YMCA stands for — community and wellness.
Developing healthy habits — like being active and eating well — are best learned at a young age. This is a day to come together as a community to encourage families and kids to become more active, eat better and have fun.
To demonstrate why days like this are so important, let’s look at some statistics from the 2015 Nova Scotia Health Profile: - 64 per cent of Cape Breton
ers are overweight or obese (vs. 52 per cent of Canadians) - 9.4 per cent of Cape Bretoners have diabetes (vs. 5.6 per cent of Canadians) - 28 per cent have high blood pressure - 6 per cent have heart disease
- Only 52 per cent reported themselves as active In Cape Breton, we have serious population health concerns. To curb these unnerving trends, we must focus on developing good habits within our children and youth.
The 2017 Healthy Kids Day will be held on Saturday, June 3. The day starts at 9:30 a.m at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion, where the Cape Breton Fiddles
Run will host the annual Doctors Nova Scotia Youth Run. Following the run, we're hosting a free open house at our Charlotte Street location, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. This fun event will feature tons of activities, including: - Bouncy House - Arts - Nutrition challenges - Gym and aqua games "The YMCA of Cape Breton has been a valuable partner in our goal of getting Cape Breton youth active,” said Katherine MacQueen-Burke, chair of the Doctors Nova Scotia Youth Run.
“In the last number of years, we were able to co-ordinate schedules so that the Youth Run and the YMCA Healthy Kids Day were held on the same day. Having the Healthy Kids Day follow the run made for a very fun-filled day focused on physical activity and healthy living. It was also a great incentive for families who live outside the Sydney area to come into the city for a full day of activities.”
We invite everyone in our community to take part. This is a great opportunity to try the Y for free and kick-start your family’s journey to wellness.
Ways to get involved in Healthy Kids Day: - Visit the Y on June 3 - Volunteer - Help spread the word - Donate healthy snacks - Provide child-friendly equipment - Set up an information booth - Sponsor this day For more information on the YMCA of Cape Breton, visit capebreton.ymca.ca call 902-562-9622 or email info@cbymca.com
To sign up for the Doctors Nova Scotia Youth Run, visit www.capebretonfiddlersrun.com. Registration is $10, plus a $2 online fee.