Commit 2B Fit–Activ8 Your Life

Yellow Springs, OH, 2004

Today's teenagers are less physically active and more overweight than their parents were at those ages. Why do we care? Because youth who are overweight, not physically active and have poor eating habits are at risk for chronic diseases. An assessment of local youth indicates 50 percent are overweight or at risk for being overweight, and many have already been diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases. Our kids are developing these "adult" diseases because of their lifestyle—too much screen time in the forms of TV, video games and instant messaging; and too many unhealthy, convenient food choices.

WYSO-FM and Wright State University (PfS), a community coalition to support and promote healthy youth and families, launched Commit 2B Fit–Activ8 Your Life, a campaign using media, events and public relations to promote healthy lifestyles to youth and their parents. This campaign aimed to dispel myths about physical activity and diets, encourage parents and youth to get moving, and gain support from local leaders on policies to support healthy living.

Teens from Yellow Springs High School guided the campaign, working with WYSO to produce audio diaries, 13 modular programs and one half-hour program. The features used local stories to encourage parents to set healthy examples for their teens and to help them be active. WYSO and the teens also packaged the programming into a "Healthy Living Action Kit" with CD-ROMs for distribution to schools and partner youth-serving organizations.

Commit 2B Fit–Activ8 Your Life engaged the community through an integrated campaign including a public access talk show, columns in local papers, articles in partner newsletters, community presentations and a roundtable discussion with community leaders. A community-wide event launched the campaign, featuring healthy cooking demos, a teen "cook-off," fitness classes and fun activities and games.