Salem News
By Cate Lecuyer
09/28/2007

BEVERLY - There's no doubt that Ayers students in the YMCA after-school program were "on the move."

For a half-hour straight, they stepped through hula hoops on the ground, climbed over the jungle gym, went down the slide, kicked a kickball, grabbed a quick drink of water and ran back to the beginning to repeat the obstacle course.

Fourth-grader Nelson Castro wore a pedometer and at the end announced he ran 2,345 steps. Multiply that by 45 students, and Ayers was 105,525 steps closer to their goal of 1 million.

Students at the five elementary schools have been counting their steps all week as part of "America on the Move" week. The school with the most steps when they're tallied on Monday wins sports equipment, like more dodge balls or baseball bats.

The program, initiated by the Greater Beverly YMCA, is to show people seeking a healthier lifestyle that making small changes can go a long way. Research by the America on the Move Foundation has shown that making two small daily changes - taking 2,000 more steps and eating 100 fewer calories - can prevent the average annual weight gain of one to two pounds, Marketing Director Stephanie Lyons said.

Elementary school students may not be worried about their waistlines quite yet, but they got the message.

"If you don't want to run for 25 minutes, maybe just run for 10 minutes a day," suggested fifth-grader Breanne Grimes. She did her share of running on the obstacle course, but she also gathered on the side lines with friends to cheer on all the other students. Cheerleading is a physical activity and therefore can be converted into steps and counted toward the goal, YMCA curriculum specialist Anne Curry said. It also brings up another important message kids pointed out: Do exercises that you enjoy.

"If they play, that's all we ask," fifth-grader Acasha Baer said. "As long as they're active."

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