CHATSWORTH : School Fitness Program Funded

A Chatsworth-based health maintenance company is putting up nearly $10,000 to fund a two-year fitness program at a Woodland Hills school.

Ten elementary, junior high and high schools are expected to apply for the program. The winner will be announced later this month.

CareAmerica Health Plans, which will move its headquarters to Woodland Hills later in June, is offering to buy outdoor fitness equipment, set up a cardiovascular-wellness curriculum and help with staff development at the school.

“We feel that preventive care (for youngsters) is the key to healthy adults,” CareAmerica spokeswoman Lisa Freeman said. The program, she added, is designed “to educate kids early about proper nutrition and exercise.”

Under the umbrella of the nonprofit Project Fit America, CareAmerica will fund the project in Woodland Hills. The chosen school will serve as a two-year study model, Freeman said. Students’ health and fitness levels will be tested when the program of exercise and education begins, she added, and then retested two years later in order to record any improvements.

Project Fit America, established in 1990, has 37,000 children in its programs nationwide, most of whom have seen dramatic improvements in fitness levels, its studies show.

Boys showed an 81% improvement in pullups after two years and a 25% improvement in a sit-reach exercise. Girlsshowed an 18% improvement in the mile run and 78% in arm exercises.