Obesity:

Obesity rates in America have tripled in the past 30 years.  One in three children in America is overweight or obese. A local fitness program for kids wants to change that.

Health care costs of obesity-related diseases amount to $147 billion per year.

These numbers are unacceptable to Brandy Cruthird, founder and executive director of Body By Brandy 4 Kidz.  

Cruthird founded Body By Brandy 4 Kidz in 2006 to invest in the health of Boston’s children of low-income families and give them a safe and welcoming place to work out and learn about healthy lifestyle habits. After being inspired by first lady Michelle Obama’s nationwide campaign, “Let’s Move,” to solve the problem of childhood obesity, Cruthird wanted to do something more for her community and children who attend Boston Public Schools.

Body By Brandy 4 Kidz and Boston Public Schools have joined forces to combat childhood obesity. They are a $250,000 April finalist in Pepsi’s Refreshing Idea contest for the innovative idea of a “Get Fit Pass.”

“We’re trying to be on the preventive side and get kids up and moving,” Cruthird said.

The “Get Fit Pass” aims to provide a before- and after-school workout program for Boston’s public high school students. School nurses will be able to refer overweight students to Body By Brandy 4 Kidz, where they will have access to personal training, small group exercise classes and nutritional counseling for up to a year, all free of charge.

Each school nurse will be able to refer potentially up to 50 students per quarter during the school year. School nurses will also receive monthly reports on the students’ attendance and quarterly reports on Body Mass Index (BMI), weight and personal test results.

Locally, 35 percent of children under the age of six are overweight or obese, which is 15 percent more than the national average, and type 2 diabetes has doubled among high school students, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The “Get Fit Pass” will allow children who are overweight and at risk for coronary disease to have a safe environment in which to exercise and also help them learn how important physical fitness is to their health, Cruthird said. She also hopes that the “Get Fit Pass” will raise awareness about childhood obesity and change kids’ behavioral habits, build self-esteem and get them excited about getting — and staying — in shape.  

With the $250,000 grant, one of the goals for Body By Brandy 4 Kidz is to double the number of kids it serves annually to 400. To accommodate these numbers, the facility would purchase approximately $50,000 in “child-size” equipment for the participants.

To make the “Get Fit Pass” idea a reality, Cruthird and the Boston Public Schools need your vote. “If we’re able to get people in the community to vote, this partnership will be unreal,” Cruthird said. “This grant has the potential to ‘change a kid’s life one workout at a time. ’ ”

Voting began April 1, but will continue through the end of the month. To vote for the “Get Fit Pass” idea, visit www.refresheverything.com/bbb4kidz. The idea with the most votes at the end of the month wins the requested amount of funds. As an incentive, voters who print out proof of their vote are eligible to receive a free seven-day pass to the Body By Brandy fitness facility in Roxbury.

To learn more about Body By Brandy 4 Kidz, visit www.bodybybrandy.com or call 617-442-2187.