Eglin pilots children's nutrition and fitness program Published Oct. 6, 2014 By Sara Vidoni Team Eglin Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- When Jodi Vetter visited the 96th Medical Group for her daughter's most recent Well Child appointment, she knew concerns about her child's weight would be expressed. "Obesity runs in our family, and I was concerned about my daughter dealing with the health and social issues my family has had," said Vetter. The doctor suggested the Vetter family enroll in Operation Kid Fit. Operation Kid Fit is a new pilot program offered here for parents of children ages four to 11, who are concerned about their child's weight. "OKF offers parents the unique opportunity to learn positive parenting strategies to encourage healthy behaviors in their children they can incorporate into their everyday lives," said Kimberly Harris, the Eglin educator for Operation Kid Fit. For Vetter, it was just the solution her family was looking for. "The class teaches not just fitness skills and ideas, but effective disciplinary skills that are useful in every facet of parenting," she said. "Thanks to the program, we have figured out strategies to get my daughter more active and get her to try new foods that are more nutritious." The free program, which is available to all 96th MDG beneficiaries, offers parents the tips and tools needed to learn how to provide healthy food choices and increase their child's physical activity while aiming to improve parent's skills and confidence in managing children's weight-related behaviors. "This program is important for our military families, because they face unique challenges uncommon in the civilian sector such as irregular duty hours, deployments and frequent moves that may impact their ability to provide healthy meals or take children to physical activities such as soccer and basketball," said Harris. The program is a 12-week commitment made up of ten 90-minute interactive small group sessions and two personalized phone calls. The sessions include educational instruction, parenting skills demonstrations, role-playing scenarios and peer modeling within small groups. Vetter recommends this program to all parents, not just parents dealing with weight issues. "It's not judgmental. My husband and I are fitness geeks, but for some reason we were falling short with our daughter. I didn't get a guilt trip or wasn't made to feel like it was my fault my daughter has weight issues. Instead, OKF teaches a different approach to discipline. This is helpful with all facets of parenting not just over-eating and inactivity." Eglin was one of four military installations chosen as a pilot site based on a large population of military children, the presence of a strong health promotion program and leadership support for implementation, according to Harris.