New Orleans Fitness Center Joins Louie's Kids in Fight against Childhood Obesity

Gym donates six-month membership to local overweight teen.

(PRWEB) July 17, 2005 -- Cross Gates Club, a comprehensive fitness center located in Slidell, a suburb of New Orleans, has provided an area teenager in need with a six-month scholarship to its all-fitness Pontchartrain location.

Another six-month membership has been pledged by childhood obesity advocate group, Louies Kids, on the condition that the teen makes a significant change in her weight during the first six months.

Louies Kids, founded by Louis Yuhasz, provides overweight and obese children and teenagers scholarships to attend weight loss and behavior modification camp. The New Orleans teens application was one of the dozens Yuhasz receives every year from overweight and obese teens, desperate for help.

Financially, the organization can only distribute so many scholarships a year. For those children who are not selected, Yuhasz works to find other ways to make a healthy difference in their lives.

The New Orleans teen expressed a desire to join a gym, so Yuhasz set out to find her one. He contacted Cross Gates Club and gave them her story, sending Pontchartrain managers Joey Sanders and Dion Grossnickle some background information on Louies Kids as well as a copy of the teens application letter, which, as Sanders said, was all it took to bring them on board in helping this teen.

Cross Gates is always trying to get out the message of health and fitness," said Sanders. We are a community-based organization and when we have the opportunity to help someone in the area, we are happy to."

The six month fitness scholarship includes enrollment in Cross Gates Commit to Fit" program. The teen will meet with a certified trainer three times over the course of 12 weeks. First to evaluate her current weight and health and determine a plan for her, then to familiarize her with the actual workout equipment, and finally to asses her progress and determine whether or not the program is working for her.

Its awful having to turn any child down for a scholarship, but its great to be able to provide another way to get these kids off to a good start in changing their lifestyles," said Yuhasz. This amazing girl in New Orleans is anxious for a change and the people at Cross Gates Club totally stepped up to the plate."

Yuhasz founded Louies Kids in honor of his father Big Louie," who weighed nearly 550 pounds at the time of his death in 2001. The number of scholarships available each year depends on the private donations and monies generated through fundraisers. This year, Yuhasz expects to send eight children to camp on scholarships.

It has been estimated that this generation of children will be the first to have a lower life expectancy than their parents due to complications of obesity. Louies Kids aims to reverse this trend by helping overweight and obese children make healthy changes in time to impact their futures. To learn more about Louies Kids, make a donation, or download an application, visit www.louieskids.org.

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