LEXINGTON, Ky. - Thousands of Lexington middle schoolers are putting their sneakers to work over the next six weeks as they participate in World Fit, a fitness program started by Olympians to reduce childhood obesity.
This year 11 of Fayette County Public Schools' 12 middle schools are taking part.
“We’re asking for every school to take a 45 minute window out of their normal day in order for the kids to walk. Some are taking a little bit out of homeroom, a little bit in-between classes, a little bit out of lunch, to get 45 minutes for the kids to walk during the school day, on campus, with teachers,” says World Fit community leader Micki King, a gold-medal diver in the 1972 Olympics.
King helped kick-off World Fit today at Morton Middle School, which was the top-ranked school in the country last year with more than 272,000 miles logged. King says competition is a motivating factor for kids.
“They log every step they take on a computer, on a master website. And each school has each individual student and they have their total student mileage. And every day you can find out how far your kids walked and also how far the school down the street walked.”
Students in 17 other states are also participating in the World Fit Walk.
