By  Blaire Sieber

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone’s Second Annual Shape Up Somerville Fitness Challenge kicked off at the high school gymnasium Saturday. Somerville Recreation ran a boot camp, including jump roping and push-ups, for volunteer attendees shortly after.

A Farmer’s Market provided local residents with healthy food choices: Vegetables from Enterprise Farm, baked goods from Great Cape, seafood from Jordan Bros. and home-made hot sauce from Burnin’ Love Sauces.

Local businesses centered on physical and mental fitness provided live motivation to get people moving and keep moving. Corpbasics Fitness and Training Club, where the focus is on group classes and personal training, had a 15-person group fitness class in the middle of the event.  Accompanying music proved fitness does not have to be boring. Shobu Aikido, a martial art and spiritual development practice, had a live exposition where the Sensei took on three men at once and left undefeated.

The event, however, had much more to offer than fitness entertainment and healthy groceries.  Cambridge Health Alliance provided visuals on hidden dangers in some of the foods we eat, such as salt and fat content. Information on how to properly read food labels and proportion sizing was also available.

The public health department provided blood pressure tests and blood sugar readings. Maps of the local parks were on hand to promote walking and bicycling for exercise, as well as a low-carbon method of transit.

UMass Extension school had take-home information on nutrition and fitness for children.  The group covers ideas for parents, such as walking your child to school, replacing lunch cookies with cheaper, healthier vegetables, and promoting the 5-2-1 Jump Up and Go! Program: five fruits and vegetables, two hours or less of screen time, and one hour of exercise every day.  There was also a recreation area for children to enjoy hula hooping, soccer, basketball, and anything their creative minds thought up.

The event was successful, with Mayor Curtatone reminding everyone that First Lady Michelle Obama used Somerville’s Shape Up Program as a model for her national Let’s Move! Campaign.

Those that signed up and pledged to “Eat Smart, Move More” have about six weeks to earn points through city events, as well as through weight loss and lower Body Mass Index. Residents who enrolled already living at a healthy weight and lifestyle can also participate.  The prizewinners will be announced at the first SomerStreets event on Shore Drive May 22.