Tavita Nielsen-Mamea is shedding weight with the help of
Creative Conditioning gym director Gary Dawkins in a new
youth fitness programme. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
Eight weeks ago, Tavita Nielsen-Mamea weighed 97.3kg and
his body was 46% fat.
Alarm bells rang when the 13-year-old said he thought he was
going to die doing simple activities.
Tavita's deteriorating health was noted during a
parent-teacher interview and, given his mother died of a
heart attack five years ago, his father Tony Mamea decided to
enrol Tavita in a new youth fitness programme.
"I was worried about Tavita.
''He was overweight and I didn't want him to meet the same
fate as his mum," said Mr Mamea, who took his son to the
class for 10- to 13-year-olds at Creative Conditioning in
Dunedin.
Since then, Tavita has lost 5kg and 8% of his body fat.
A healthy male body contains 10%-15% fat and women 18%-24%.
While Tavita is chipping away at his percentage, Mr Mamea has
become a member of the gym and is attending adult classes to
support Tavita and improve his own health.
Creative Conditioning director Gary Dawkins said the youth
programme was established because of a growing number of
children growing up on a couch in front of the television set
while living on poor diets.
"We've turned our attention to younger kids to get them into
a healthier lifestyle.
''We're concerned about the growing number of young people
with body fat levels up into the 40% [range].
"When I walk up the street, I see one in four kids who are in
that range.
''Our aim is to get kids into the habit of doing exercise for
themselves."
As well as interactive one-on-one body-weight exercises, kick
boxing and circuit drills, members were given recipes to help
change their diet, he said.
"It's a holistic approach.
''We have goal-setting and the overall aim is to make it fun
so they enjoy it for the rest of their lives."
Mr Dawkins said he was putting 11 young people through the
programme and hoped they would inspire others their age to
get more exercise and eat properly.
Tavita said the programme was "awesome" and he was really
starting to notice a difference in his fitness levels.
"At first, it was really hard.
''I was really tired.
''But now, I just want to do more - I don't want to stop."
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