Hundreds flocked to the Minachom Atdao Saturday morning for a fun-filled day by the beach and to learn more about living a healthy life during the 3rd Annual Family Fitness Fair. <\/p>\n
According to planning committee chair Myrna M. Quitugua of the Department of Public Health, all goals and objectives of the event were met. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is a great number of participants,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really successful and I\u2019m glad to see that we met our goals and objective. We wanted families to come out and get information from the health exhibits here… I believe it was a success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hosted by the Women\u2019s Affairs Office and non-profit organization Heart of the Marianas, the event kicked off with a walk-a-thon led by the Saipan Walking Association Inc. along the Beach Road Pathway. <\/p>\n
After the early morning exercise, several participants took advantage of the free cholesterol and glucose test being administered at the site.<\/p>\n
Adult and youth games, including rope jump, balloon popping, Sponge Bob Rally, sack race, Dutch ball, and Rocball were also played later in the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was called to bring Rocball, and it\u2019s good exposure for the sport and is also good to have these young kids try it out and have fun,\u201d Rocball founder James Feger said. <\/p>\n
The event also featured aerobics and Taichi demonstrations courtesy of Gold\u2019s Gym, and exhibits with various information on healthy diet and diseases, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really important to get the message of healthy living out there,\u201d said Saipan Seventh Day Adventist schoolteacher Sean Maycock. \u201cThe best thing is to let people know that it is possible. A lot of times people feel kind a hopeless, thinking it\u2019s too hard to live a healthier life, and one of the great things about this event is that it shows easy ways that they can fit into their lives to eat healthier and live healthier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maycock also provided a recipe book on several low cholesterol dishes. \u201cAll these recipes, we\u2019ve got a great response. So far every one seems to like them as they\u2019re helping themselves. They love them. People assume a vegetarian diet isn\u2019t going to taste good, but so far so good. Every recipe we\u2019ve made, they loved and raved about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molins Epison, one of the many children at the event, said the activities featured at the fair would help them in making choices for healthier living.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun, I really like the Rocball part,\u201d he said. \u201cI was here from the beginning. I walked, and I think this kind of event will help the youngsters want to live a healthy life. Others will know more about the activities, and the word will spread.\u201d<\/p>\n
Further, Quitugua said majority of the participants have indicated their desire for similar events in the near future.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got good feedback,\u201d she said. \u201cAs a matter of fact, kids are asking if we can continue this next month, and so we\u2019re going to try to arrange with the schools if we can do something with them. We have representatives from the Youth Affairs Office, Gold\u2019s Gym, and others and we\u2019re going to try to coordinate more activities.\u201d <\/p>\n
Fellow committee member Chailang Palacios explained that the event empowers members of the community to take control of their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis gives power to the community because they realize that it\u2019s not like we say \u2018hey come here and we take your blood pressure,\u2019 but they see that there\u2019s also fun,\u201d she said. \u201cThe young kids especially, when they hear about health, many would think \u2018it\u2019s health so it\u2019s boring\u2019 but we put this together to give kids the power to know that findings way to be healthy can also be very fun, and we\u2019re proving it to them today because many are having a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKids love action, and different games, sports, that\u2019s what they like. We need more of this,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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