According to the Centers for Disease Control, Tennessee is ranked third in the nation for childhood obesity and 47th for overall health status.
Because of this high ranking, Congress passed Public Chapter 1001 for the 2007-2008 school year, making 90 minutes of physical activity per week mandatory for elementary and secondary schools.
“This is where we come in to play,” Fit Kids Coordinator Amy Greene said.
A non-profit organization, Fit Kids was started in 1987 by The Paty Co. and ETSU as a way to improve the physical fitness of elementary school children and educate teachers, parents and students about ways to achieve life-long fitness.
The 90 minutes of physical activity required is in addition to regular P.E. classes, and because some schools in Tennessee don’t have a physical education program, Greene said, “even if we are conducting P.E. in the gym . this time goes toward the 90 minutes of (required) physical activity.”
Children in grades kindergarten through fifth grade are evaluated each year to assess cardiovascular endurance, abdominal strength, hamstring flexibility and upper body strength and identify areas needing improvement.
Fit Kids is designed to supplement the school’s existing physical education program (if it has one) and focus on motor skill development, healthy habits, cooperation and fun.
All homeroom teachers are given an activity guide to help them lead daily activities with their students to achieve and maintain high levels of fitness.
Fit Kids sponsors also provide recreational equipment to be used in conjunction with the program’s activity guides.
Fit Kids also promotes annual health fairs on lifelong habits for health, such as smoking, bike and seatbelt safety.
Today, the Fit Kids program serves about 4,000 students in the East Tennessee region, including Hawkins, Washington, Greene, Sullivan, Carter and Unicoi Counties.
With the slogan, “It’s Hip to Be Fit,” the program helps children become motivated to maintain their well-being and health, using graduate assistants to incorporate endurance and flexibility into healthy play and competition.
Ashley Tambor, an M.A.T. student majoring in elementary education, is working as a graduate assistant in the Fit Kids program in Hawkins County.
The schools in which she works only employ part-time P.E. teachers, so Tambor fills in the gaps with Fit Kids, testing the kids’ fitness levels at the beginning of the year and testing them again at the end of the semester to gauge the effectiveness of the programs.
One of the games Tambor plays with her classes is “germ tag,” where she teaches the kids about germs and how to avoid them while they engage in physical activity.
“There are lots of neat little games like that, they incorporate lessons of health and nutrition into fun games for the kids,” Tambor said.

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