RAF MILDENHALL — Get up, get out and get fit.

For today’s youth, that’s easier said than done. Kids just don’t seem to play as they did before video games, computers and TV lured them indoors and made childhood obesity a national epidemic.

But FitFactor, an Air Force initiative offered at the youth centers on RAFs Mildenhall and Lakenheath, weaves technology and exercise into a program designed to keep children’s attention and help get them in shape.

Children between ages 6 and 18 sign up at the centers for free and then start tracking their activities and healthy eating habits online. From team sports to household chores, virtually anything that gets a kid moving earns them points.

“It’s trying to get across to people that you don’t have to run a marathon to get fit,” said Dave Wilcox, youth sports director at Mildenhall.

“It’s the little things, like washing your car or helping put away the dishes, that also help you stay active.”

The points go toward six, increasingly difficult levels of fitness: energy, strength, agility, adventure, endurance and “feel the power.” Participants are awarded prizes for reaching each benchmark.

Between the online component and the prizes, the kids have embraced the program, Wilcox said.

The next goal, he said, is to encourage parents to participate.

“Even if they’re already staying fit in the military, it’s an opportunity to get involved with their kids and get some tips for healthier living,” Wilcox said.

Along with tracking participants’ goals online, the centers document each child’s progress.

Jessica Bermudez, a seventh-grader at Lakenheath Middle School, is one of only two to complete the program so far, earning a total of 35,000 points, with a 100 point-per-day maximum.

“I learned little things still mean working out,” said Jessica, 12.

To learn more, stop by a youth center or log onto www.afgetfit.com.

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