State Fair: Fitness, food a fair challenge

The obstacle course was a piece of cake for 9-year-old Ben Caster.

Even dressed as a cowboy from top to bottom, complete with a hat, vest, chaps, and boots with spurs, the Fairfield boy quickly moved from station to station Sunday at the Kidz Fitness Challenge at the California State Fair.

"It was really easy," said Ben, who plays baseball and runs track.

Youngsters of all ages and sizes tested their fitness skills at the challenge, which was organized by California Family Fitness, a Sacramento-area health club chain.

The challenge, new to the fair this year, is a free daily activity that consists of six stations: five push-ups, the hoop-hop, five sit-ups, the balance beam, jumping jacks, and running in and out of orange cones.

With employees from California Family Fitness counting each push-up and sit-up and providing encouraging words such as "good job," youngsters scampered from one station to the next.

The reward for finishing the challenge was a tattoo sticker. But, the hope is that the activity will encourage youngsters to lead healthy and active lives, said Tiffany Humphreys, general manager for California Family Fitness' Arden location. "And get into it early," Humphreys added.

"I won my tattoo," said 6-year-old Madeleine Woods of Rocklin. "I was good at all of it."

Some parents said they were finding a challenge of a different kind in trying to maintain good eating habits for their children when roaming through the fairgrounds at Cal Expo.

Funnel cakes, sausage sandwiches, waffle cone sundaes, turkey legs, chili cheese fries -- there was no shortage of fair food indulgences for adults and youngsters alike.

Allison Sutfin said she wished the food vendors offered a healthier selection of items, especially since she didn't want to feed her three children any fried foods.

So, she planned to take her family home to Elk Grove to feed them lunch before returning to the fair later in the day.

"It's less expensive and more healthy," she said.

Knowing that childhood obesity is a public health epidemic, she said that as a parent it is important to instill good eating and fitness habits in her children at a young age.

Madeleine Woods' mother, Jennifer Woods, said she has made it a point to teach her daughter healthy eating and exercise habits.

She said her daughter rides her bicycle, walks to and runs around the parks in Rocklin regularly.

"Having them be active now will help them over their lifetime to be active," she said.

At the fair Sunday, she brought bottled water so they wouldn't drink soda. She said they're going to stick to foods items such as corn on the cob.

But, since it is the fair, she'll let her daughter eat a one "naughty" food item during the day like cotton candy.

"Be balanced," Woods said.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Sandy Louey can be reached at (916) 478-2654 or slouey@sacbee.com.