Exercising in unison to fight obesity

Students in all 50 US states were urged to exercise en masse for 15 minutes on Wednesday to curb alarming rates of childhood obesity.

As children exercised in school yards across the world, sweat flowed, calories burned, and, perhaps some lives will be saved.

HT Image

At least, that's the hope of Len Saunders, a grinning New Jersey elementary school gym teacher who started Project All Children Exercise Simultaneously (ACES) in 1989.

Students in all 50 US states and at least 50 countries were urged to exercise en masse for 15 minutes on Wednesday, to curb alarming rates of childhood obesity.

"This is not going to change their lives for the 15 minutes today, but it may motivate them to exercise in the future," said Saunders.

He said the exercise day had been observed in schools in Japan, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan, South Africa, and Britain among others.