American Heart Association Club Joins CRN

By Sophia Kim
 
As October rolls around, most CRN students are finally settled into their classes and daily routines. At this point, many may be looking for some extracurricular activities that they would enjoy participating in. One club at our school that you may not be familiar with is the American Heart Association Club. 

The AHA Club was introduced to CRN late last school year. It promotes heart health to children in our community and mainly focuses on emphasizing the importance of healthy exercise and eating habits to prevent heart conditions.

The club visits daycares in our community about every other month in order to teach children through hands-on activities.

Founder and president of the club Sanjana Harihar says that the club gives students an opportunity "to positively reinforce healthy habits in the kids [they] meet at the daycares."
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In past daycare visits, members of the club participated in “food sorts” with the kids to teach them about choosing healthy meals and games such as freeze-dance to encourage physical activity.

Harihar says that she was prompted to form the club because she has loved ones who struggle with heart disease. She believes that educating young children in particular is a valuable experience because it can help them “build strong habits that will benefit their heart health in the future.” 

If you are interested in joining the American Heart Association Club, contact Sanjana Harihar through her school email address or Ms. D-V from the library. The club meets once a month in the library.

Here are some tips that can help you easily add healthy heart habits into your daily life:

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Nutrition

Exercise

Eat more fruits and vegetables -Find fruits and veggies that you actually enjoy- don’t force yourself to eat foods you dislike because you won’t be able to sustain that diet  -Prepare fresh vegetables and store them in your refrigerator in advance – make vegetables a more convenient choice -Try buying frozen fruit – Frozen fruit is pre-cut and washed, can be stored longer than fresh fruit, and can be used for making smoothies Portion control -Use smaller plates and bowls - this will naturally decrease the amount you eat Variety in food -Eat a wide variety of food – make sure your body receives all of the nutrients it needs to function properly -Change up the foods you eat – eating the same thing everyday becomes boring and unenjoyable

Build exercise into your day -Take the stairs instead of the elevator -Park your car farther away in the parking lot – this will force you to walk more to get to your destination -Find a sport you love – find some activity that you really enjoy and you will be motivated to practice it! Motivation tactics -Exercise in front of the TV – make exercise more tolerable by doing it while watching a show you like -Listen to music while you move – find music that fills the background noise or music that will push you forward -Workout with friends – sometimes exercising is more fun when you’re not alone!