The Christian Love Center in Troy is concerned about childhood obesity so the Center is getting up and getting the kids out in hopes that they will find that there’s more to life than computer games and potato chips

Angeline Green, Center director, said the Center has sponsored a “Get Fit, Kids” camp for several summers and each summer more and more kids enrolled.

“That’s encouraging and it’s one reason that the Center is sponsoring Get Fit Kids Walk on Saturday,” Green said. “The purpose of the walk is to bring greater awareness to childhood obesity and to the need to get kids up and out and moving.”

The Get Fit Kids Walk will began at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Christian Love Center on Segars Street and go to the downtown square where the walkers will be greeted by members of the Troy City Council before returning to the Center.

“We have invited our city officials to meet us at the square so these kids will know that they have the support of our community,” said Lawanda Bell, Christian Love Center activities director. “Alabama is the second fattest state in the nation. Only behind Mississippi and that’s not anything for us to be proud of. It’s sad. So, we’ve got to get up and get moving. We can’t keep letting our kids sit, play games and snack.”

Bell said electronic games are “taking over and raising our kids” and, in the wake, they are getting fatter and fatter.

“They don’t just sit and play games, they sit and snack and play games and it shows,” Bell said. “Kids need to get outdoors and get moving. That’s our goal but we’ve got to raise awareness of the obesity problem among our kids before we can reach that goal.”

Bell and Green said the Get Fit Kids summer camps are an indication that, once they are up and moving, kids have a good time.

“We walked, rode bikes, played games, planted a garden and learned about eating nutritious meals and snacks and they all had a good time,” Green said. “They’ll have a good time on Saturday and we hope that will encourage more kids to get up, get moving and ‘get fit.’”