And I quote................

"It’s just gym, huh?

"Well think again. It’s the only subject I know of that directly reduces a kid’s long-term risk of heart failure, diabetes, depression, anxiety, several cancers, and obesity — and at the same time enhances fitness, cognitive function, self-esteem, teamwork, and overall good health.
Like it or not, the truth is, if we keep cutting PE out of our schools and physical activity out of o…
Here's a neat PDF that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation compiled from their 30 tweets of 30 facts about childhood obesity, during Childhood Obesity Month.

Download HERE.
Contributed by Andrea Bossenmeyer

The City of San Francisco just banned giving toys with Childrens' Happy Meals citing they contain too much fat and sugar. Proponents of the legislation suggest that toys are the culprit of poor food choices for the young set.

According to the ban, if a restaurant wants to give out toys, they need to include fruits and vegetables with the meal. So "Mickey D's"...all that would be required is to …
Mission: Readiness is a nonprofit organization of retired senior military leaders. Their latest concern is over what they call, "The latest national security threat: obesity."

Being overweight or obese has become the leading medical reason recruits are rejected for military service. In fact in the last fifteen years, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their physical exams because of weight issues has increased nearly 70 …
Photo credit: Thomas Reis Edutopia Magazine

A federal panel of health experts has issued new recommendations encouraging U.S. doctors to screen children aged 6 and older for obesity, and to offer them a referral to intensive weight management programs when necessary.

Read more......]

The new recommendations was published in the February issue of Pediatrics, and are available online now at the Pediatrics Web site.

For more on the topic of childhood …
Is physical education a necessity? These's one agency that has a strong opinion on the matter. The military. With the nation at war the nation's fitness effects national security. The current situation is dire.

The Associated Press last week reported concerns over the number of overweight military applicants. The Defense Department told the AP over 47,000 recruits flunked induction physicals during the last four years.

How bad is the …
by Andrea Bossenmeyer

The new issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, published a Temple University study showing the true power schools do have in reducing rates of obesity.

The researchers chose to examine schools impact in reducing obesity, factoring in that kids eat 1-2 meals at school per day. They went into 10 schools and revamped their menus. Soda was replaced with water, fruit juice and low-fat milk; snacks were capped at 7 grams of total fat …
"TV Turnoff week promotes the idea that limiting screen time and boosting physical activity can lead to healthier living, sponsored in part by the Center for Screen Time Awareness (CSTA) and We Can!, a science-based national education program from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) makes the following recommendations for physical activity and tv watching time:
Limit TV viewing and video game playing …
This article was copied in its entirety because it gives such a great perspective...
post submitted by Andrea Bossenmeyer

Of all the challenges to reversing our national obesity epidemic, the one that concerns me most is what I call the "distortion of normality." While constants in science (physical values or principles) are well known and don't change, life has far fewer "constants."

The constants we tend to adhere to most …
By Andrea Bossenmeyer

A new report asked children what a healthy diet is, and they responded "One in which you do not gain weight." Rather than a diet that gives you all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals you need to grow and develop.

They also interviewed children as young as four. The research indicates that children can be strongly prejudiced against overweight people. Children had little sympathy for people who are overweight. The…
Virgin Healthmiles, part of British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group empire, is trying to take wellness and weight loss to another level. Insurance company Humana is rolling out the high-tech Virgin Life Care system, which lets employees rack up points for exercise. They can redeem the points for gift cards from Target to Home Depot, Bass Pro Shops to Best Buy.

The program has been slow to take off, though.

"Companies are alread…
A research study released last week in London found that to get an extra 14 years of life, don't smoke, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly and drink alcohol in moderation.

However, it is not expected that this "new knowledge" will have much of an effect. When conducting my dissertation research I came to realize that knowledge rarely motivates one into action. There is often a gap between what we know we should d…
Obesity has dominated media headlines over the past few years as the
nation has begun to recognize it is a serious health crisis.

"F as Fat", a new document released by the Trust for America's Health points out how obesity policies are failing in America. The 118 page reports covers such topics as

1. Obesity Rates and Related Trends

2. Obesity and State Policy: A review of legislation and initiatives;

3. Obesity and Federal Polic…
A recently released study from Australia indicates that being overweight as a child is the number one reason why children are bullied. It has overtaken difference in appearance, acne, dress or glasses as the top reason why kids are bullied in Australia.

Figures show that 25-30 of Australian children are obese or overweight and this figure is rising exponentially rising.

It should also be noted that 1-5 Australian adults say they were bullied ab…