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BISBEE — Obesity in children is a growing problem nationwide.
In Arizona, 30 percent of children aged 10 to 17 were overweight, according to 2003 state health department figures.
Cynthia Conroy, Bisbee 1000 Great Stair Climb founder and event organizer, wants to make a dent in that percentage and get children out for the 17th annual event to be held Oct. 19-21.
“We are the first event in the state to challenge and encourage people to fund-raise for this important cause,” she said. “By focusing on childhood obesity, we hope to assist programs that are already working towards safe activities and healthy diets by bringing awareness to their efforts.”
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The Bisbee 1000 is an opportunity for parents to set an example by participating in a healthy lifestyle, a chance for participants to gain awareness, learn prevention and to become advocates. Equally important, it is a way to generate support for what is being called a national epidemic in our society according to the Mayo Clinic, Conroy said.
“With the rapid spread of childhood obesity, especially in rural areas, it was a clear connection to have this fun, hugely popular sporting event help support the fight against childhood obesity,” said Jim Pratt, Save Our Stairs board member. “While conquering over 1,000 steps you will be serenaded by local musicians playing at strategic points along the route, and cheered on by spectators. Participants can compete aggressively for overall and age group prizes making it a challenging fitness walk or an enjoyable family stroll, or a combination thereof.”
In 2005, Centers for Disease Control statistics showed that 12 percent of high school students are overweight and 14 percent are at risk of becoming overweight. A whopping 68 percent of high school students don’t get the recommended levels of physical activity.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases states children who are overweight are more likely to be overweight as adults. They can develop heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Being overweight as a child can also lead to low self-esteem, stress and sadness.
Experts say children should exercise at least an hour a day to maintain weight and good health. The best way to involve child in exercise is by being a good role model and getting out there with them, whether on the basketball court, walking, cycling or even dancing.
Getting a child away from that computer monitor or TV will produce health benefits later on in life.
The Bisbee 1000 Stair Climb encourages physical fitness regardless of age or level of fitness. The event allows the use of any combination of walking, running and resting to traverse nine sets of steps and numerous back roads at a mile-high altitude. The course runs up a series of old stairways in Old Bisbee and continues through the hills affording views of the town’s quaint houses and colorful gardens.
The stairways originally followed the mule paths worn into the terrain during the heyday of Bisbee’s copper mining past. Workers with the Work Projects Administration built the stairs over those same pathways during the Great Depression.
Today, Save Our Stairs works to maintain those stairways, preventing deterioration and preserving history, Conroy said. Every year, money is given to the city of Bisbee to handle the stair repair, and she hopes the crews will be out making the route presentable and safe for the participants and observers.
Conroy conceived the idea for the stair climb after reading an article in the New York Times in 1990, shortly after she arrived in Bisbee. The Times article claimed Americans were returning to the gyms by the thousands, lured by the latest fitness craze — the newly invented stair-climbing machine.
At the same time, research from San Diego State University showed that walking up stairs was the cardiovascular equivalent of jogging at 5.3 mph.
“It may be hard to get overweight people and children to run, but they can climb stairs and get a good workout,” Conroy said.
In addition to expanding the Save Our Stairs mission, the nonprofit also is adding a new venue this year called the Courtyard Festival featuring an open air market of arts and crafts made by people in Bisbee. Conroy expects to have around 50 vendors, some well-known, gathering on Oct. 20 at St. Patrick Catholic Church, a new partner to the Stair Climb this year. The musical group Train Wreck will be entertaining the crowd.
“This is a special treat for all those who like mall walking, not stair climbing,” joked Conroy. “You can get your Christmas shopping done early.”
For the golf fan, there’s a tournament at Turquoise Valley Golf Resort in Naco, Ariz., on Oct. 21.
Conroy expects around 2,000 participants and spectators to come to this year’s Stair Climb, almost doubling the 1,200 who came last year. People from coast to coast come and make it an annual mini-vacation. Many come from Phoenix and Tucson. One visitor this year is from Tokyo.
“But we want to get more people from the county and the cities to get involved. This is a county event, not just a Bisbee event,” Conroy said. “We will need around 75 volunteers to help with the Stair Climb. And we can always use more sponsors.”
Last year, $20,000 was raised and this year she is looking to boost that figure to $30,000.
The cost to put on the Stair Climb runs about 50 percent of what the organization brings in.
REPORTER Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692.
