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ORLANDO,
Fla., (April 24, 2009) --- Dr.
Debby Mitchell, a University of Central Florida associate professor
who serves as Coordinator of Sports and Fitness at the university,
will offer a major presentation on the importance of health
and fitness programs for children during the National
Head Start Conference April 27 - May 2 in Orlando.
Dr.
Mitchell, founder and chief executive officer of GeoFitness,
Inc., will present Learning + Moving = School Success
at the conference.
Nearly
one in five four-year-olds in the U.S. are obese, according to
a newly published study by the Archives
of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
"Childhood
obesity is a national crisis and almost every expert in the field
can tell you the reasons. Increasingly sedentary lifestyles and
fewer opportunities for exercise make a perfect storm for public
health," Dr. Mitchell warned.
Many
studies demonstrate the positive effects of physical education
and physical activity on school performance.
Dr.
Mitchell launched GeoFitness, Inc., to
support existing fitness programs and add the element of learning
to increase academic achievement.
Third-graders in
one Central Florida school recently increased their abilities
in multiplication by more than 30 percent after a six-week program
of GeoFitness "Learnercise" activities, Dr. Mitchell reported.
"We
know we have a problem. We know we have programs that work to increase
fitness, health and learning abilities at the same time," she said. "It
is critical that we put these programs to use," she explained.
GeoFitness,
Inc. is a leading provider of movement-based products including
Learnercise, a new learning and fitness program for elementary
through high school children.
"GeoFitness
programs are easy-to-use, cost effective tools
to increase fitness and academic achievement for students
of all ages," Dr. Mitchell said. "They
include choreography and games---hip hop, partner and Latin
dancing, aerobics, kickboxing and functional fitness training---that
appeal to children and teachers alike."
Dr.
Mitchell said she developed Learnercise programs to incorporate
such elements as math, the alphabet, colors and shapes, geography,
time and nutrition.
About
GeoFitness:
GeoFitness,
Inc. is an innovative fitness and learning company. It
utilizes multi-sensory, movement based activities to significantly
enhance both learning and fitness for every person, regardless
of age, interest, gender or ability. The
company was founded in 2002 by Dr. Debby Mitchell, Associate
Professor, Coordinator of Sports and Fitness for University
of Central Florida. Based
in Orlando, FL, GeoFitness is a client of the University of
Central Florida Incubator Program. To
learn more about GeoFitness,
Inc., please visit: www.geofitness.com,
or call 407-275-0510.
For
more information on the National Head Start Association please
visit http://www.nhsa.org/
About
the UCF Incubator Program:
Since
its founding in 1999, the UCF Incubator Program has helped more
than 100 emerging companies create over $300 million in annual
revenue and more than 900 new jobs with an average salary of
$59,000. With five facilities across the metro Orlando community,
the Incubator Program provides a collaboration environment for
economic development between UCF, local cities and counties and
the Florida High Tech Corridor Council in Central Florida. To
learn more about the UCF
Business Incubation
Program please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu
For
more information about this press release, contact:
Gabriela
Coban, Ten-global, LLC at 407-492-0570 or gcoban@ten-global.com; or
Larry
Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142; lvershelco@aol.com. |
