“Henry Gets Moving” is a bilingual children’s book that promotes healthy lifestyle choices for children and families. A community wellness movement, “Henry Gets Moving” is geared toward helping overweight children stay active, much in relation to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, its motto pledging it as “America’s Move to Raise a Healthier Generation of Kids.” A select group of UMass Amherst interns have helped spread the campaign’s message by reading the book and explaining healthy lifestyle choices to children in local Amherst schools!
In this book, Henry the Hamster is a youngster who overcomes his obesity challenge with an active lifestyle and healthy eating. When we first meet Henry, he is overweight, having difficulty in school and at play. Like many children, Henry is teased for his weight. A discouraged Henry receives positive support from his friend, his physician, and his family to make positive changes in his life.
This book touches on a very important medical issue in our society today: obesity. Over 17% of children and 36% of adults are obese. The best way to combat obesity is through eating healthy and staying active which is what “Henry Gets Moving” is all about.
Currently, “Henry Gets Moving” has a team in UMass with 9 UMass interns. These interns go into local schools and conduct a 4 session curriculum focusing on eating healthy and staying active. This program has been successful in 5 different schools this semester, and “Henry Gets Moving” currently has interns in 7 schools. There are also teams in Miami, Florida and now Denver, Colorado.
The goal for the “Henry Gets Moving” internship program is for Henry to inspire not only children, but also the student volunteers as well as the faculty and staff at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
If you want to be involved in Henry Gets Moving you can e-mail Michelle@henrygetsmoving.com or check out our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/henrygetsmoving2012, and remember to get moving!