Several entities in Freeborn County are coming together to promote healthy eating and exercise habits in area families — and especially among children.

Through a program called Fit Forever, entities including the Albert Lea Medical Center, the Freeborn County Public Health department, the Albert Lea School District, Albert Lea Community Education and the local YMCA are hoping to promote health and wellness, while at the same time addressing the problem of childhood obesity.

“Our goal is to help get parents and kids together to make better choices,” said Albert Lea Medical Center Physician Maria Loerzel. They also hope to show that physical fitness can be fun and to help parents realize what some healthy eating options would be.

Loerzel said studies show that if parents have healthy habits and exercise, their children are more likely to have healthy habits and exercise. Children who have regular fitness have also shown to do better in school.

“If we want a better life for the kids, we have to start somewhere,” she said.

Through the program, a special emphasis will be placed on elementary grade level students, with the overall goal of making the entire family unit better.

In this pursuit, the Fit Forever program officially kicked off Tuesday night at Albert Lea High School with a showing of “Supersize Me,” a documentary during which filmmaker Morgan Spurlock can’t eat or drink anything that isn’t on a McDonald’s menu for a period of 30 days.

At the end of the 30 days, Spurlock had gained about 25 pounds, his body fat went from 11 to 18 percent, he doubled his risk of coronary heart disease, he increased his cholesterol dramatically and he created many other health problems for him.

After showing these results, the documentary questioned whether people should eat fast food.

In response, a doctor on the film stated that it needs to be restricted and allowed only on an otherwise balanced diet.

Ross Williams, principal at Sibley Elementary, said the committee wanted to give parents another opportunity to view the documentary together with their children to help them make better educated decisions.

“Most of us don’t know what we eat,” Loerzel said. “The knowledge of knowing has helped me make better decisions when I’m going out to eat. If you’re going to have a treat, just be knowledgeable about it.”

She shared two examples of items from fast food menus that she and her husband were shocked to find out the caloric values of.

She said her husband loves the chicken strip basket from Dairy Queen. It has 920 calories, 50 grams of fat and enough sodium for your whole day.

In another example, she said the grilled stuffed burrito at Taco B ell has 720 calories and 32 grams of fat.

Loerzel said as a physician the statistics of childhood obesity scare her. Doctors are diagnosing more Type 2 diabetes than ever before.

“If they make good health choices now, they’re going to be healthier adults,” she said.

To encourage positive health choices now, the Fit Forever program gives each child who participates a passport booklet where they can earn stickers through participation and doing certain activities.

At the end of six months, based on the stickers earned, the children can have the chance to win prizes, including a Nintendo Wii Fit. If children do the activities with their parents, they can earn more stickers.

During the Tuesday night kickoff event, Mary Nelson, who is over the school lunch program for the Albert Lea Area Schools, said despite what some may think, school meals are actually good for kids and for parents’ wallets.

Schools have come a long way in the last five years for making healthier eating options for students.

The school meals meet the food guidelines for the state, and in Albert Lea schools, students cannot purchase soda. If they want snacks, they can only purchase healthier snacks like baked chips instead of regular ones.

Karol Hansen, who teaches health and physical education at Southwest Middle School, said one of her biggest goals is to teach the students to make healthy choices and to do things in moderation. She also hopes to let the students know that exercise is good for them. “A sound body makes a sound mind,” Hansen said. It doesn’t have to be an organized sports team that the children are on just as long as they are involved in some kind of physical activity.

“We have a choice of making a difference,” she said. “We can change the attitude about it.”

Becky Goodell, a registered dietitian at Albert Lea Medical Center, gave a few eating tips to families in attendance.

She said when it comes to snacks, people should go for high fiber foods that will fill them up. They should balance their meals around whole grains and include lots of fruits and vegetables.

Parents should try to emphasize healthier foods more, and shop mainly in the perimeter of the store where the whole grains and fruits and vegetables are found, she said.

If you have to eat out at fast food, she recommended choosing the smallest hamburger possible.

Parents interested in getting their children involved in the Fit Forever program can be on the lookout for events sponsored by the Freeborn County Fit Forever Committee. There will be events through fun nights at the schools, events through the Y and others through community education.

The committee hopes to have a finale event at the end of May or beginning of June, where students can turn in their passports and be entered into a drawing for prizes. Right now they are wanting to develop a children’s triathlon with a community picnic.