TRENTON, Ga. — Watching her own adolescent son’s inactivity during the summer months, local gym owner Grace Wooten has started up a summer boot camp that aims to get kids in gear during summer break.
So far fewer than 10 youngsters, ages 10 to 15, are enrolled in the camp that meets every weekday at Genesis Gym in Trenton. But Mrs. Wooten said the young participants’ enthusiasm has encouraged her to continue the camp all summer long.
“I think it’s really going to catch on,” she said. “I think they’re really enjoying it. I yell at ’em and I push them but … I think they’re responding really well.”
In Georgia, 37 percent of 10- to 17-year-olds are overweight or obese, according to the Trust for America’s Health. Mrs. Wooten said part of the reason is the sheer amount of time children spend indoors in a technology-induced stupor, playing video games, surfing the Internet and texting on cellphones.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but it’s out of balance in our children,” she said. “When I was growing up, we were always outdoors doing things.”