Michael Dunkley and Minister of Education Wayne Scott threw themselves to the gym floor at Dellwood Middle School yesterday morning and performed 22 push-ups to inspire children to embrace a new island-wide fitness and nutrition programme.

Much to the amusement of the students, teachers, health and education professionals present, they took up the challenge to introduce the Premier’s Youth Fitness Programme launched under the Premier’s Council on Fitness and Nutrition.

With all of the public schools on board, the hope is to extend the programme to include private schools in a bid to reduce obesity and promote good health and nutrition.

Mr Dunkley said: “It is my hope that this programme will help you on the path to a lifetime of good health. That means a life in which regular exercise and healthy eating are part and parcel of your day-to-day activities.

“Many of you will be wondering what all the fuss is about. You’re healthy, you play sports, you move, you’re active and perhaps you think you eat well. But we know that many young Bermudians are not as active as they should be.

“The Premier’s Council wants to change that ... to focus your attention on fitness and nutrition. It wants you to learn what your bodies need in order for them to work better for you.”

The fitness and nutrition programme will monitor the amount of exercise performed by each student using various tools including a heart monitor. The Premier’s Council Fitness Gram test will measure students’ abdominal and upper body strength, flexibility, weight, body mass and aerobic capacity and then guide them towards improvements that will take that student into what has been dubbed a “healthy fitness zone”.

Each student will be provided with a portfolio where they can record their progress and a website www.stepitupbda.com has been launched to help students, teachers and parents keep up with the students’ development.

Prizes will be awarded to the island’s best-performing students as an added incentive to do well.

Co-chairman for the Premier’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Arnold Manders said the programme would provide additional benefits to regular PE schedules that are limited in some schools. “The best way to combat obesity is to do it through the schools and trying to enoucourage physical activity outside of school,” he said. “Students can record their activity and they can keep track. The ministry has mandated that we test in every government school from P5 to S3 by October 31 in the first assessment and by May 31 for the second assessment.”

Mr Dunkley added: “As Premier, I am very excited about this programme for a few reasons.

“I’ve been around long enough to know how important good health is to all aspects of life — on the job, in school, pursuing your dreams, making friends and in the home — being a good son or daughter, being a parent or a role model.

“It requires energy to live life well and it requires fitness to live a long life. This is very much a part of what the Premier’s Council is aiming to achieve in you.”

The Premier went on to explain how fitness plays an integral role in his day-to-day life — rising at 5am each day to attend the gym to get his “heart pumping”, to be more alert and to better able to get through busy and stressful days.

“This is my habit — my lifetime habit. This is a great opportunity. Seize it and move forward with a clear head, a sharp eye and a spring in your step.”