register for a free health club membership at any Lifestyle Family
Fitness. The annual teen health initiative kicked off in May and runs
through August.
"I was an overweight teen and experienced a lot of peer pressure while
growing up," says Lifestyle Family Fitness founder Geoff Dyer, who
once tipped the scales at 248 pounds at 17 years of age. "I wanted to
provide health club memberships for teens who may be facing the same
self-esteem issues I once faced."
Overweight teens are at risk for many health problems, including high
blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.
Among the many benefits of physical activity are higher levels of self-
confidence and lower stress and anxiety levels.
"A new study shows that even teens who are genetically predisposed to
obesity will maintain a healthy weight by exercising for an hour
daily," says Dyer.
"In an effort to battle childhood obesity and inactivity, Lifestyle
Family Fitness began donating free, two-month health club memberships
to teens in 2006," says Lifestyle Family Fitness President Kevin
Laferriere. "We do this during the summer months, because many teens
would not otherwise have access to physical education during school
break."
"Family members tend to be too forgiving when teens experience weight
gain. It is easy to pass this off as "puppy fat" or say 'you'll grow
out of it, don't worry about it'," adds Dyer. "The better approach is
for the parent to lead by example. Eat sensibly, be active and be
supportive and encouraging."
Participation in North Carolina has about tripled since the program
started in 2007 and is expected to grow to reach more than a thousand
local teens this summer. Nationwide 11,000 teens participated in the
program last year.
To register a teen, parents may visit www.lff.com/teen. Teen
memberships provide all-day access to the health clubs on weekends and
access until 4:00p.m. on weekdays. For more information, parents can
call 866-362-9286 during business hours. Both Charlotte locations and
participate in the program.
