A crowd of energetic students from Piedmont Elementary School surrounded Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors last week during his Get Fit Clinic sponsored by Kaiser Permanente.

The 6-foot-6 player talked to students about the importance of eating healthy and keeping physically active, which in turn helps them perform well in school.

Stay away from the bad foods and put the right things in your body was Iguodala’s message to students on Tuesday. “If it’s too good, that means it’s bad for you,” he added.

As someone who runs up and down the court during games and travels throughout the season, Iguodala said it is important for him to have a healthy diet and stay hydrated.

“As I get older, I can see the way my body is reacting to playing basketball for so long. It’s really important to eat the right things and make sure I’m on the right type of diet,” said Iguodala, whose daily diet includes an egg white omelet for breakfast, lots of vegetables, and fish or chicken for dinner.

“In turn, it builds good habits, and that’s why I do the same thing with my son,” he said. With the Get Fit clinic, he says, he wants kids to “understand how important it is to start at a younger age to build good habits.”

Students also ran some basketball drills with the athlete, putting what they learned about healthy living into action.

Dr. Nailah Thompson of Kaiser Permanente gave students three health tips to follow throughout the school year: eat healthy snacks, choose healthy drinks, and eat breakfast every day.

Dr. Nailah Thompson of Kaiser Permanente showed students at Piedmont Elementary the amount of sugar in high fructose drinks such as Coca-Cola, Sprite, and Starbucks, stressing the importance of choosing healthier drink options. Photo by Ashley Chambers.

She also gave kids a visual presentation on the amount of sugar in high fructose drinks such as Coca-Cola, Sprite, Starbucks, and even kids fruit drinks, showing the importance of choosing healthier drink options.

“We’re hoping to get the message to them at a young age to understand what some options are for healthy eating and healthy drinking so that they can basically thrive and live a healthy life,” said Dr. Thompson in an interview with the Post.

“If we make these regular activities as a child, they will grow into doing that as an adult. There are so many chronic diseases that can be prevented with a healthy lifestyle,” she said.

Students received t-shirts that read “Get Fit Time Out” as well as backpacks with a pedometer, jump rope, water and a healthy snack.

In a message to parents Iguodala said, “It’s really important to get kids started at an early age so it won’t be a hassle trying to get them to change as they get older.”

For more information about the Get Fit Clinic, visit www.nba.com/warriors/community/getfit.

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