AN EARLY START Kids of STEEL aims to help children form healthy habits at young age

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When Nick Fischer was a nursing student, he realized how forming healthy living habits early could benefit people later in life. “It’s much easier to maintain health than it is to regain health,” Mr. Fischer said.

Instead of waiting for bodies to deteriorate, Mr. Fischer, who switched gears to become a registered dietitian, hopes to connect with kids early enough to shape their long-term eating and exercise habits in a positive way.

Kids of STEEL, a branch of the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon Inc., organizers of this weekend’s Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, partners with schools and community groups to promote overall physical activity and nutrition. Youth outreach coordinator Stewart Jones, youth program manager Michele Nichols and program coordinator Kara Viggiano, along with Mr. Fischer, the event and program dietitian, have seen the program grow from 15 sites with fewer than 1,000 kids participating in 2010-11 to 150 sites and more than 6,000 involved now.

Marathon weekend features three races for children — the Sheetz Toddler Trot, the one-mile Toyota of Pittsburgh Kids Marathon and the UPMC Health Plan/UPMC Sports Medicine Pittsburgh 5K Run. Many of the young people participating will be Kids of STEEL runners.

Food is inherently simple, and so is activity, Mr. Fischer said. But some kids aren’t from active families that cook healthy food, and marketing and packaging can confuse them.

So the Kids of STEEL duo of Mr. Fischer and Mr. Jones, on trips to schools for nutrition assemblies or exercise programs, tries to keep it simple when conveying that being healthy isn’t hard.

It’s important, Mr. Fischer said, so kids can avoid health problems in the first place.

“It’d be shameful to give these kids no effort and let health problems consistently grow, rather than say, ‘We’re going to try,’” Mr. Fischer said. “It’s going to be hard, and it’s going to be a lot of work, but we’re going to try to do right.”

Because Mr. Fischer and Mr. Jones can’t be everywhere, volunteers help the Kids of STEEL programs thrive. In Mt. Lebanon, SEE KIDS, PAGE A-16