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News

Healthy summer camp honored

BOUNCE-lite helps girls build positive body self-image

Cougar News Services

The Texas Public Health Association will recognize BOUNCE-Lite, a summer camp founded by University researchers to help elementary and middle school girls learn to eat healthy foods, as a 2006 Nutrition and Physical Activity Best Practices program at it's 81st annual conference.

The event will take place April 24 in Plano and will honor nine other programs.

Health and human performance associate professor Norma Olvera heads the program and said it gives the participants a chance to learn how to eat, exercise and live in a healthy way.

"The idea behind this program was to teach young girls about positive body image and healthy food and exercise choices," Olvera said in a release. 

"We were encouraged by the response to the program and thrilled to have this honor," she said.

The BOUNCE-Lite camp counselors include a doctorial candidate and graduate students studying how family and environment can affect a child's diet.

"What I've found is that parents usually believe that if a child is eating, she's healthy, even if the child is overweight, even if the child is making poor food choices," Olvera said in a release. "The act of eating is equated to healthy living." 

In 2005, the BOUNCE-Lite program cost families $200 a week and taught girls from nine to 12-years-old about how to create a positive self-image through journaling, team-building exercises and trying new foods. 

Culture can also affect a child's eating and exercise habits. Olvera's research shows that more than 40 percent of children in Hispanic households in Houston are overweight. 

The national average of overweight children is 11 percent. 

Programs from the Texas Children's Hospital and the Houston Parks Department will also be recognized at the conference. 

The four-day event will also include a golf tournament to raise money for the non-profit organization. 

The goal of the Texas Public Health Association is to raise awareness about health programs in order to facilitate partnerships.
 

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