According to the Air Force the role of Fit Factor is to encourage youth to make healthy choices and to provide them the opportunity to experience a variety of fun activities. The goal of the program is to get anyone to exercise, teenager or not, it has to be fun. The program awards points and incentives to youth, 9-18 years, who enroll. Registration is easy and online at www.afgetfit.com, but must be completed through the youth center on McGuire. Youth who enroll receive a wallet card to keep track of their user name and password, a lanyard and a Fit Factor pin to wear. More incentives are down the road, as users pick activities, collect points and work their way through five levels, culminating the highest level, endurance, and earning a silicone bracelet, pin, T-shirt, and cooler packed with goodies. Activities are worth from 25 to 100 points and are based on the 60-minute activity guidelines recommended by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

    McGuire’s Youth Sports and Fitness Program’s most important goal for Fit Factor is the increased awareness of fitness and health in our youth. Fit Factor encourages youth to be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day, make healthy eating and lifestyle choices, including friends and family in fun physical activities and games, limit the amount of TV time as they adopt healthy exercise routines, including a broad range of physical and leisure time activities. HQ SAF/ILVY has developed a full range of marketing materials and templates for implementation of Fit Factor at each base. This program is a multi-year program as stated above and with the implementation there is little doubt that McGuire’s youth will be looking for reliable information about how to improve their health. We have a unique opportunity to map out the path that could help youth strike the right balance between nutrition and physical activity with the Fit Factor philosophy. If the marketing Guidelines follow the principles requested, youth will achieve the objectives for which they were designed.