HHS HealthBeat (October 9, 2006)

Game On

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

(Sound of kids playing (under)

Kids need to have fun. So, with the U.S. Capitol in the background, more than 200 students were playing on the National Mall.

This being Washington, though, fun and games has a point to make. The first national Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge, suppo

rted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Action for Healthy Kids, encourages school wellness programs. This includes nutrition and exercise.

Fourteen-year-old student leader Chandler Converse of Marietta, Georgia, serves on a local wellness committee. She also was playing on the Mall. And she says it’s nothing kids can’t do in their own schools:

"You could take a bunch of hula hoops and a jump rope, and just invent some game where you get to have fun and get exercise." (six seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011