Education on Centre: Local school districts engage in healthy competition

Posters can be found hanging in schools at Penns Valley Area School District promoting the Nutrition Habit Challenge.

This is the first year Penns Valley Area students, teachers and community members are participating in the countywide event that promotes health and wellness.

“It is my hope that each year we will be able to build on the program, do more within our district and increase participation,” health and physical education teacher Andrea Borland said. “It is my hope that we can get as many people as possible within our school district to participate.”

But it’s not just among those in Penns Valley.

NHC was established three years ago by One on One Fitness owners Bruce and Kym Burke, as a friendly competition held each February between school districts that serve Centre County.

“We created the NHC to educate and inspire members of our community to make better choices not only with their diets, but also their exercise habits and lifestyle choices,” Bruce Burke said in an email. “We have created a platform to do that, but we need thousands of participants in order to succeed in truly impacting our community’s health. If we have 10,000 participants, and 20 percent of them have lasting, meaningful change, we have helped 2,000 people live healthier lives. That is the end game.”

In it, participants choose a nutritional behavior they commit to changing.

But the catch is that it must be significant enough to positively affect their health, and manageable enough to complete through the month, Bruce Burke said.

If successful for at least 25 days, the participant is eligible for a prize drawing that includes a trip for four to Walt Disney World.

“It’s a great way to have a positive impact on your health,” Borland said. “Choosing one measurable nutrition habit and holding yourself accountable is the start of a healthier lifestyle. This is something everyone can do.”

State College Area High School student Sahar Memari won the Disney trip last year.

Her commitment was to drink half her body weight in ounces of water each day of the challenge.

According to a report from One on One Fitness, a $500 donation — among other awards — will go to the district that has the largest number of successful participants.

The donation must specifically go toward the school’s wellness committee.

As of last week, Bald Eagle Area had the most registered participants, followed by State College Area, a report from One on One Fitness said.

Penns Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola, St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy and Our Lady of Victory, and Bellefonte round out the rest of the ranking.

St. Joe’s and OLV are competing together.

Registration opened during the fall.

Last year’s NHC had 2,214 total participants, including 230 families, Bruce Burke said.

This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 11:10 PM with the headline "Education on Centre: Local school districts engage in healthy competition."