Today, going to school has become stressful for the little ones due to the ever-increasing academic demands. Teachers are constrained by syllabi and the education system. Parents move heaven and earth to make their wards well-rounded individuals, wherein some eventually also succeed in making them unhealthy. Everyone feels the need for a holistic program to achieve academic excellence with age-appropriate physical activity & sports. But academic demands leave no time for physical activities or any fitness regime leading to a dire need for the incorporation of fitness in the school curriculum. This dearth was observed by a group of professionals who came together, and started LeapStart two years back. LeapStart, India’s Premier Physical Education & Sports program under the umbrella of FitKids Education and Training Pvt. Ltd. offers a complete sports and fitness program for children from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
LeapStart officially started its operations in January 2010 in Bangalore. Currently LeapStart is present in 14 cities, providing quality physical education, to over 80000 kids across the country in almost 100 schools. Looking at the enthusiastic response and growing demand for such a program, LeapStart officially announced its launch in Delhi today. At the launch, Mrs. Mishika Goel, Co-founder (North), FitKids Education and Training Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are overwhelmed with the response received by LeapStart across India and pleased to know that people have started accepting the significance of sports and physical education right from an early age. We are delighted to announce our operations in Delhi. The purpose of the program offered by LeapStart is to make physical education and academics on par. We are already associated with almost 100 schools pan India. This year with Mumbai, Punjab and Delhi operations we are expecting to touch close to 200 schools all over India.”
The Physical Education & Sports curriculum has been designed in partnership with SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids), a US-based research and public health organization whose sports curriculum is being implemented in over 10,000 schools in 30 countries worldwide. LeapStart is the only program in India that has published over 45 academic papers in support of its assertions. The various sports promoted through the program are Soccer, Tennis, Cricket, Basketball, Swimming, Hockey, Volleyball, Soft Ball, Ultimate Frisbee and Gymnastics, to name a few.
LeapStart is already associated with Queen Mary's School (Tis Hazari), GD Goenka Public School (Model Town), GD Goenka International School (Sonepat), Eva Maria School (Dwarka), St.George School (Alaknanda), St Thomas School (Faridabad), St.Thomas School (Indirapuram), PP International School (Pitampura), Hope Hall Foundation School (RK Puram), Vidya Sanskar International School (Faridabad), Father Agnel School, in the Delhi and NCR region.
Given the various infrastructural and other restrictions in most of our cities, Mrs. Goel added, “Today, the problem with increased urbanization of our cities is that kids are denied access to playing spaces in the neighborhood, be it the street outside or the adjacent playground which have been taken over by heavy traffic or tall buildings. And thus, playing has taken a backseat. So we are here with an opportunity, to provide school kids with just the sort of fun-filled activity, which we enjoyed when we were young. Only instead of trying to attempt the impossible and getting kids back on the streets, we go across to schools and take over the physical education process. The LeapStart program has been designed to fit in anywhere and our field-tested units can be implemented realistically in a variety of schools, including those with limited space, equipment and supplies.”
Mr. Kishen Whabi, Program Director of LeapStart said, “The LeapStart program is a comprehensive one-stop solution for schools to address the Physical Education & Sports needs of children from Kindergarten to Grade 12, thereby making it an integral part of their development process as well as complementing their academics. Delhi has been a state that has produced some legendary sports personalities in a variety of Sports like Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Neha Aggarwal Yuki Bhambri, Sushil Kumar among many and a structured program like LeapStart would help unearth even more talent”
‘’A program like LeapStart has gone a long way in helping us structure Physical Education in our school. LeapStart has helped us give the children a Physical Education program which is at par with the best in the world with respect to the curriculum, the qualified trainers and the innovative equipment which is used during the classes. LeapStart also has a very effective assessment program which gives us detailed understanding of each child’s progress and achievements in the PE classes.’’, said Mrs. Neelam Kapur, Principal of Queen Mary’s School.
As the above survey conducted by National Diabetes, Obesity & Cholesterol Foundation shows, adolescents in both private schools and public schools are overweight / obese. Continued surveys, conducted in New Delhi, show a similar trend in the increase in the prevalence of obesity. Studies report a prevalence of overweight / obesity among urban private school going adolescents as 29%. The main causes identified are intake of energy dense foods and lack of physical activity.
Dr. A K Kriplani, Senior Consultant Laparoscopic, G.I. and Bariatric Surgery Chief, Center for Laparoscopic Weight Loss Surgery, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital said “As an obesity consultant, I come across children and their families with high Diabesity (combination of diabetes and obesity) and life threatening diseases like sleep apnea (where chances of sudden death are very high). Scientifically these situations are reversible with the use of modern treatments. But it is wise to diagnose and intervene in time before it becomes a threat to length and quality of life. International research shows that up to 25% of school aged children are overweight or obese. These children are more likely to suffer from emotional problems such as low self-esteem and bullying. They have a higher risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, and are more likely to be overweight as adults. If left untreated, obesity can become a lifelong problem. Hence physical activity from a very young age is must for an overall development.”
Agrees Ms. Kapoor, whose son Amanpreet, at the age of 8, is already juggling between his piano, drawing classes, his school and tuitions homework, leaving no space for fitness in his already hectic schedule, which has led him to put on some kilos lately. On this Ms. Kapoor retorts, “He is already so exhausted with so many activities that there is no time or energy to exercise.” Unfortunately India has created many Amanpreets, the main reason being kids are not engaged in the habit of fitness from childhood. To have a healthy mind is not enough, it is essential that one has a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Mrs. Goel also added that there is a trend observed these days, of people becoming more aware of the need for children being physically fit especially with the existing lifestyle that revolves around Television, Gaming consoles and computers which have taken priority over playing outdoor due to space constraints or otherwise. “We are happy that the acceptance of a program like LeapStart is more these days, given the transformed scenario. I am really glad that this is also being realized by our government, given the recent report wherein the ex-sports minister Mr. Ajay Maken proposed to give school going kids marks for their physical fitness. Aiming to ensure better health and promote sports culture among children, the proposal seeks to give weightage to physical fitness in schools all over the country. According to the draft proposal, the top 10% of performers shall be given an additional 3% to the percentage obtained by him/her in academic disciplines. Those between 10-20% will get additional 2.5%, those between 20-30% will get 2%, between 30-40% will get 1.5% and between 40-50% will get additional 1% weightage in their marking, which may be converted into grades as per prevalent norms. I am happy that we are moving towards being a healthier nation.”
Looking at the dire need for physical fitness, at the school level, as well as the complementary transformed behavior of schools and parents towards fitness, specialized and trained physical education programs like LeapStart are here to stay. Such programs will not only help our nation to become healthier but also will serve as an important tool to spot sports talents.
