About the Boston Children's fit kit
At the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center, we conduct ground-breaking research into the underlying causes of obesity and provide state-of-the-art care for children with overweight or obesity. But we don’t stop there. We use our research and know-how to develop education and programs that can have a positive effect for families.
The Boston Children’s fit kit, generously supported by the New Balance Foundation, is a collection of evidence-based strategies, tools, and activities to support families who want to develop healthier habits. This resource kit takes research and expertise from Boston Children’s and delivers it to families around the world. Our goal is to support many more families to adopt healthy and active lifestyles — and ultimately help to conquer the childhood obesity epidemic.
Our resources and tools are targeted to kids aged 8 to 15, but the messages and activities are written with entire families in mind.
The Boston Children’s fit kit focus on five key topics that directly impact children’s health:
These five topics provide structure for all Boston Children’s fit kit resources. We review the main messages for each topic consistently and frequently, as one topic can impact another. We build on these messages — in resources devoted to education, programming, and evaluation — to help children and families make healthy choices.
Understanding that children learn in a variety of ways — by seeing, listening, writing, moving, and doing activities — the Boston Children’s fit kit includes resources that appeal to a variety of learning styles.
Inside the Boston Children’s fit kit, you’ll find:
educational videos and interactive elements to introduce central concepts, main messages, and helpful strategies
assessment tools to demonstrate understanding
activities that allow children to apply what they’ve learned
trackers to self-monitor changes over time