CAMAS — Twelve-year-old William Elwell put his knowledge of added sugars in popular drinks to the test.
He underestimated the prevalence of the sweet stuff.
The Camas boy suspected one small lemonade juice box would have only two teaspoons of added sugar. He was surprised to learn the 6.75-ounce container actually included six teaspoons.
“It was a lot more than I thought,” he said.
“It’s not really juice,” his mom, Rebecca Elwell, added.
William was one of dozens of kids who took guesses at the added sugar game, hosted by PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, at the Camas 4 Kids Health Fair on Saturday at Doc Harris Stadium.
“I think its pretty eye-opening for kids to see what sugar looks like,” said Emily Campbell, a registered dietitian at PeaceHealth. “I think it’s eye-opening for parents, too.”
Campbell is also a member of the Camas School District Student Health Advisory Council, the group organizing Saturday’s event.
Hundreds of people walked through the health fair during the four-hour event. Thirty organizations — dental offices, medical providers, fitness studios, community groups and local businesses — participated in the event.
Kids and their parents learned about proper hand washing and healthy eating. Vendors offered posture, foot and blood pressure screenings. Kids tested their balance and tried out hula hooping. And fitness groups offered hip hop dance, Jazzercise, Zumba, yoga and taekwondo demonstrations.
Throughout the event, Camas High School football coach Dale Rule was walking laps on the stadium track. Rule has lost more than 100 pounds by walking.
For the fifth year, Rule took to the track to walk for 24 hours straight. His goal is to take 190,000 steps (about 100 miles) and encourage kids and adults to get active. He’ll finish at 10 a.m. Sunday.
This was the first year of the kids health fair, but organizers hope to team up with Rule again and make the event an annual affair.
