Nutrition in Demand summer camp

Providenciales, 05 Aug 2015 – Nutrition in Demand held its second annual fitness and nutrition summer camp during the week of July 20th – 24th, 2015 at the Edward Gartland Youth Center in Providenciales. The camp was designed so during the first half, that students learned about the importance of fitness and nutrition in living a healthy lifestyle; but, there was also a practical portion of the camp where everyone was involved in making and tasting a healthy recipe and participated various forms of physical activity.

Children between ages 11 – 17 took part in Cross Fit, a fitness craze that is a core strength and conditioning program that can be adapted to any fitness level; they also were exposed to the different equipment at a gym, yoga, aerobic exercises and a hike to Bird Rock Trail. “We thought it was important to expose the children to many different types of activities so that they could then choose which activity (ies) they like best. They could also choose based on their desired goal.” Mrs. Tamika Handfield explained.

This year, Ms. Lisa Lagace travelled from Canada to volunteer her time and expertise with Nutrition in Demand. Ms. Lagace has been working in the field of fitness for many years; she is the former owner of the Fun N’ Fit Gym, commonly known as Erebus Gym and currently works in the area of teaching communities on the importance of physical activity and nutrition.

When asked about her involvement in the camp, Ms. Lagace had this to say, “Children today are spending many hours a day in front of a screen (TV, computer or video game) and very few children are physically active for 60 minutes a day (the recommended minimum). In the Fitness component of the camp, these were some of the topics we touched upon. Our goal was to give the youth the basic tools to lead a healthy lifestyle, no matter what their size or level of fitness. They were taught about different body types and the importance of being comfortable in their own skin. They were introduced to many different activities and shown that being active is for everyone. The camp was a huge success. The participants took on every challenge we gave them and together we had a great week.”

Each year, the camp is open to 20 children but this year much more children were interested. Mrs. Handfield said, “We were ecstatic that so many children wanted to be a part of the camp because it shows that either they or their parents saw the importance of learning about health and nutrition while still young.”

Nutrition in Demand would like to say profound thanks to everyone that helped to make this year’s camp a success. Ms. Lagace says she would volunteer with the camp again in a heartbeat!