Contributed by Andrea Bossenmeyer


Wouldn't having more money for physical education programs and bureaucratic support for getting kids fit be amazing?

Michelle Obama's Let's Move Campaign has another initiative she's kicking off. This initiative is called Let's Move Cities & Town's.

To become a prospective Let’s Move City or Let’s Move Town, mayors and elected officials can make an impact by:

1. Helping Parents Make …

I just found out that my new Fitbit was mailed today. Yes. It's true I've blogged about it before. I purchased a Fitbit in Oct. 09 but it didn't arrive until late January. I used it for 1 month and then it came off and I lost it. (Should have a safety latch like a pedometer). I've missed my Fitbit so I broke down and reordered it earlier this week.

Here's the scoop on this new technology according to the manufacturer.

Th…

Two years ago, as Legislative Chairperson of the CAHPERD I worked with members to advocate for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign several bills into law to eliminate sodas and other highly sweetened beverages and restrict the sale of junk foods in all of California's public schools.

He did. And it appears to have worked according to a study by Sanchez-Vaznaugh and co-investigators which was published in the Journal of Health Affairs. The st…

For Christmas my daughters (25yrs & 27 yrs old) ask for the Nintendo Wii with the balance boards and fitness additional components. I figured it couldn't hurt. For my granddaughter I got a Smart Cycle. I don't ever endorse products but since these were so close to home I thought I'd share some research on these and other electronic games which aim to improve fitness.

Popular exergames include Nintendo Wii, Dance Dance Revolution…

Jamba Juice Company and The California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD) announced today its shared mission to keep California's children healthy and active with the 2010 Jamba Jump Day(TM) event -- a mass attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the "Most People Jumping/Skipping Rope at the Same Time". On Monday, February 1, 2010, at 9am, CAHPERD and Jamba Juice will lead Californians…

A new study has found that the greater the cardiovascular fitness, the higher the cognitive scores at age 18.

Further, "The study found that having better cardiovascular health as a teenager was linked to not only higher scores on intelligence tests, but more education and a higher income years down the road."

The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

By Tammy Marashlian
Signal Staff Writer
tmarashlian@the-signal.com
661-259-1234 x525
Posted: Dec. 12, 2009 8:14 p.m.
POSTED Dec. 13, 2009 4:55 a.m.

Hardly any kids were playing tether ball. There were no lines for handball.

Music was blasting pop and dance tunes, but during a recent lunch period, the blacktop playground at Rosedell Elementary School was nearly empty.

The nearly 650 students were spending their lunch racing around the school’s grassy …

Palm City Elementary PE teacher's program encourages kids to run for fitness and fun.

http://www.tcpalm.com/videos/detail/students-get-running-mileage-club

View the video of physical education teacher talking about motivating her students to run so that they will be successful at the mile run component in the state physical fitness test. The running club is not only motivating students to run more but also causing students to think about thei…

A recently released report, "Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve," states that the military had one of its best recruiting years since the draft ended in 1973. This is especially surprising since about 75 percent of the country's 17- to 24-year-olds are ineligible for military service, largely because they are poorly educated, overweight and have physical ailments that make them unfit for the armed forces, according to the report i…

Physical fitness scores and academic achievement seem to go hand-in-hand in yet another study. Statewide testing in California and Texas indicated the important relationship between fit kids and higher test scores. Now New York City has been added to the rapidly growing list.

Physically fit students tend to outscore their peers who are less-fit on academic tests, according to a new report from New York City’s Health Department and Department of …

A new study suggests that kids who exercise aren’t only in better physical shape; they’re happier, too.

Canadian researcher Mark Holder and colleagues asked 375 children, ages 8-12, about what they did for fun, paying special attention to the amount of time the kids said they spent in “active” leisure activities—physical activities such as sports and exercise—or “passive” activities, such as watching TV, talking on the phone, or playing on the co…

Research indicates that a child who accumulated short bursts of moderate or vigorous exercise throughout the day was just as healthy as a child who did a similar amount of activity over longer sessions.

Published in the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, the study focused on 47 boys, aged between eight and ten, the majority of whom were all in good health and within a healthy weight range. The results highlighted that the associations …

Georgia Approves Annual Physical Fitness Assessments for Students

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) has approved a measure that will require students in Georgia schools to undergo annual fitness assessments, the Macon Telegraph reports.

Public Support for Physical Education

* Ninety five percent of parents said that physical education should be included in the school curriculum for all students in kindergarten through grade 12.

* Eight five percent of parents and 81 percent of teachers believe that students should be required to take physical education every day at every grade level 8 and 92 percent of teens said that they should receive daily physical education.

* M…

National Physical Education and Sport Week May 1-7.

NASPE is providing a number of resources to download for taking to your School Board asking them to proclaim May 1-7 as National Physical Education and Sport Week. They have provided:
*Sample Proclamation
*Sample Press Release
*Key Talking Points
*Daily Physical Activities
*Additional Resources

The resources include:
*Appropriate Instructional Practice Guidelines for Elementary, Middle and High Sch…

The concept of integrating regular physical tune-ups into the school day is growing.

For some its simply, "common sense" built on centuries of thinking based on the close link between body and mind fitness.

For the "prove it" crowd, a growing body of research suggests that physical activity might pay intellectual dividends in the classroom. Books such as the popular "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and t…

School districts across the nation are facing budget cuts and looking ways to save money. In this "need vs want" environment some districts are asking, "is it really necessary for athletes, band members, cheer leaders and ROTC participants to take PE?"

About half the states currently allow students to be waivered out of PE requirements for reasons listed previously.

Physical educators argue that students should experience a va…

Fit Deck Jr is a deck of cards that shows illustrations & instructions describing 50 upper, middle, lower, and full body exercises. A nice idea for physical education teachers, coaches, and physical activity coordinators to use as a warm-up activity. Fit Deck Jr is designed for ages 5-15.

Company Founder Phil Black was a U.S. Navy Seal and U.S. Navy Seal instructor has expanded the line to include body building cards, yoga cards, prenatal …

Texas fitnessgram test results reveal a correlation between physically fit students and academic test scores. The findings, physically fit students score better on academic performance tests, have fewer discipline problems and better attendance records come as no surprise to educators. The correlation was first identified in CA approximately 6 years ago where student test scores reveal students in healthy fitness zones on California's Fit…

New Approach New Results

For years physical educators across the country have advocated for daily physical education for their students. Legislators have joined the bandwagon and passed legislation mandating physical education for most K-12 grade students throughout CA and across the nation. However, much to the dismay of physical educators, concerned parents, public health advocates and pediatricians, the education codes mandating physical ed…