National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) and GetSweaty.com have partnered to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity.
Today about one in three American children is overweight or obese, a rate that has nearly tripled since the 1960s. Another rate that has followed an identical pattern is that of father absence. Today, 1 in 3 children lives apart from his or her father, triple the rate of 1960. Research shows that children in father-absent homes are significantly more likely to be obese than children living with two parents.
NFI and GetSweaty.com, understanding the link between father involvement and children’s health, has partnered to help educators involve fathers in children’s health activities and communicate directly to fathers about how important their contribution is to their children’s weight and health.
Through this partnership, NFI’s website, fatherhood.org, will feature GetSweaty.com’s educational health videos and other content. Through various initiatives, including the “It Takes Heart to be a Dad” campaign, NFI will share GetSweaty.com’s helpful resources with its national network of community-based organizations that serve fathers, and directly with fathers seeking information to help them be better dads.
“We are very excited about our partnership with NFI and offering GetSweaty as a resource to the organizations who are helping fathers,” said Angel Cicerone, president and founder of GetSweaty.com. “Creating healthy habits as a family is so important and such a great bonding opportunity.”
In the past decade, as more research has been conducted on the causes of the growing obesity epidemic among American children, the “father factor” has emerged. A study on the factors associated with the physical activity of preschool children found that a father’s Body Mass Index (BMI) – a measurement of the relative composition of fat and muscle mass in the human body –is directly related to his children’s activity level. Another study looked at family lifestyle and parental BMI as predictors of the BMI of their children, and found that obesity of fathers is associated with a four-fold increase in the risk of obesity of sons and daughters at age 18.
Roland C. Warren, president of NFI said, “Now that we know there is a direct link between father involvement and children’s health, NFI is committed to providing fathers with information that will help them help their children live healthier lives. Working with GetSweaty.com is a powerful way for us to accomplish this mission.”
As the premier fatherhood renewal organization in the country, National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) works in every sector and at every level of society to engage fathers in the lives of their children. NFI is the #1 provider of fatherhood resources in the nation. Since 2004, through its resource center, FatherSOURCE, NFI has distributed over 5.7 million resources, and has trained over 7,400 practitioners on how to deliver programming to dads. NFI is the most quoted authority on fatherhood in America. Since 2009, NFI has been mentioned in over 1,200 news stories, and makes regular appearances on national television to discuss how fatherhood affects the news of the day.
GetSweaty.com is the first video-based website that provides daily physical activity for kids. The site is completely free and offers a new and different workout video each day, performed for kids by kids. They stay motivated by earning points for completing each workout which are redeemable for valuable prizes – even an IPod. GetSweaty also provides a turn-key physical activity program for classrooms and schools that rewards teachers for using the site as well. The site is currently being used by kids, teachers, school districts and community organizations in 50 states. Visit www.getsweaty.com.