Children are inundated with access to unhealthy foods, and it's a problem that a group of Saratoga parents are striving to change. The Saratoga mothers have backgrounds as registered dieticians and nutritionists. They've formed a program called Fit Kidz at Argonaut Elementary School in Saratoga to help students understand what they're eating, where it fits into the Food Pyramid and how to make healthier choices. The overall goal of the program is to foster understanding and promote healthy eating and physical activity among children.

The program was first implemented in third-grade teacher Mary Evans' classroom. Lead organizer and registered dietician Joanne Walters proposed the program to the school last year after noticing her own children peaked out on sugar highs at the end of the day.

"I hope to increase children's awareness of what they are eating," Walters said. "Everything fits into a healthy diet, but maybe it means they are not eating that treat every day."

The program offers students fun activities about nutrition based on age-appropriate curriculum designed by parents and supplemented with U.S. Department of Agriculture materials. The students study body systems in fourth grade, so third grade is a good age to start building healthy habits into their lifestyles, said pediatric dietician Padma Ramakrishnan, voicing her concerns about the growing numbers of obesity cases among children nationwide.

She said the other half of the program is parental education. In school newsletters taken home by children, Fit Kidz parents provide other parents with non-food alternatives to the usual birthday snacks such as stickers, pencils or erasers. Walters also suggests having a parent purchase a birthday book for the class library that can be read on the child's birthday to the class. Another idea is having a parent come in to talk about the birth of their child, which can still make that student feel special without the extra sugar-coated or fatty foods.

But for parents who can't resist bringing in a special treat, healthier snack options like mini muffins, fruits, graham crackers and milk, fruit smoothies, cheese and crackers and mini bagels are a few options.

"At this age they are still thin and active," Evans said. "But as they get older, they start playing video games and sitting more. They tend to be less active."

Walters said the aim of the activities with Evans' class was to get the children interested in healthy food. Walters is hoping to reach every class at Argonaut at least once this year with the program. The third graders learned about the Food Pyramid through interactive relay races where they got exercise, said critical care dietician Linda Huie, as they placed food items into the different categories of the pyramid. The children also browsed books about healthy eating and cooking.

In addition, the students developed a snack plan for the week, evaluated their eating habits and taste-tested different types of apples. Third-grader Sarah Finley said she liked the Braeburn apple best because it wasn't too sour or too sweet.

"I wanted to show the students that fruit is one category, and if they don't like one kind of apple they can try other kinds," said Walters, adding the idea isn't to make children feel deprived of sweets, but just to keep their diets balanced.

Third-grader Christina Curcelli said some of her preferred foods are in the bread and milk categories of the pyramid, and her favorite fruit is raspberries.

"When it comes to the unhealthy foods, I really like cupcakes and ice cream and especially birthday cakes," Christina said. "I need to cut back on the cakes, or just have a smaller piece of cake."

But Christina is also extremely athletic, between swimming, soccer, dancing and even piano, which she said exercises her fingers.

"It's fun to learn more about the food groups, because I don't know that much about them," she said.

An additional component to the program was participating in Walk to School Day on Oct. 6. During national nutrition month in March, student athletes from Saratoga High School will talk to the youngsters about the importance of healthy and athletic lifestyles.