We all recognize the many positive effects that exercise has on the body but did you know that regular physical activity can benefit brain mechanisms?

Research carried out by neurologists at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York earlier this year has found that just as exercise improves muscle tone and function in the body, it can also boost brain power by building new brain cells in a brain region linked with learning and memory.

And acc…
Shaq's new show called "Shaq's Big Challenge" kicked off on Tuesday evening. I must admit I didn't tune in. Perhaps I will next week.

I did however stumble upon Shaq's Big Challenge website and was pleasantly surprised. It contained a variety of tools for kids trying to lose weight including:
The Pledge
Make the commitment to make some changes in your life.

Shaq's Daily Drills
Don't be a slacker — get your workouts…
Oregon's elementary and middle-school students would have physical education requirements phased in during the next decade as a result of final legislative approval of a bill Tuesday, according to the Statesman Journal.
House Bill 3141 passed the Senate on a 28-1 vote and went to Gov. Ted Kulongoski. It includes $1 million for Senate President Peter Courtney's physical-education proposals, which would require 150 minutes per week for elem…
One trend that I hope catches on..........

Singers, statesmen, and saints, among others, have left their mark on the Brooklyn, NY landscape in the form of parks and playgrounds bearing their names. It’s a great tribute to a person to give his name to a public space. What better way is there to keep the name if not the spirit of a person alive than by turning it into something concrete, fun and functional?

The Douglas' Foundation here in CA hav…
Who knew that Leonardo da Vinci invented the pedometer? The prolific 15th-century inventor and artist sketched what's undoubtedly the world's first pedometer. This pendulum-driven device was strapped to the leg, swinging back and forth to measure distance. More than 500 years later, his invention — packed with high-tech features — has become all the rage in exercise circles, launching walking groups across the country.And both adults …
Next Sunday, Shaquille O'Neal, the 7-foot, 325-pound center from pro basketball's Miami Heat, works with 6 overweight youth on his new ABC reality show, "Shaq's Big Challenge."

O'Neal's mission: to transform the lives of six obese children -- none of whom can run a mile -- into fit, active kids with a healthful outlook on life. It won't be easy with this bunch. One of the boys is addicted to "pizza burrito…
This year Lincoln-Titus Elementary School embraced a school wide initiative to develop a model Peaceful Playground. The Peaceful Playground Program is a way for schools to organize and manage their playgrounds. It provides materials and resources that allow schools to make better use of a given playground area. It also incorporates a variety of games that enable more students to participate in an organized activity. They have an organizational…
People who want some exercise often need to do little more than get off their, er, couches and go for a walk. Despite numerous studies linking walking to better health, many people cannot seem to bring themselves to do even that.
Now a new study reports that the most successful health initiatives to encourage walking tend to use “targeting and tailoring.” They are aimed at people who are most likely to be responsive, and they are geared to indivi…
Pediatrician David Ludwig, author of "Ending the Food Fight" and director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children's Hospital Boston describes two pillars of parenting that form the foundation of his obesity-prevention approach. The first is protecting the family environment -- creating a home that makes it easy and convenient to make smart choices. That means stocking the fridge and pantry with the foods and beverages y…
Vending-machine junk food, too few gym classes — schools make kids fat, right? Not so, says a new study in the American Journal of Public Health, which found that 5- to 7-year-olds gain weight twice as quickly during the lazy days of summer than the busy school year. Tips for battling the bulge, from the American Dietetic Association: • Stick to the same meal and snack schedule as during the school year. Kids are less likely to eat constantly wh…
The playground fight began as many do, with a disagreement over whether a ball was in or out.The scuffle escalated into name-calling and pushing between two fourth-graders at Madison's Emerson Elementary School.A couple of years ago, the students likely would have been suspended. But under a new approach to discipline being tried in the district, the students instead were given the option of coming up with a fix-it plan -- something more tha…
The city will open up 69 school playgrounds to the public within a few weeks as part of its plan to have every New Yorker live within a 10-minute walk of a park by 2030. The majority of public school playgrounds are closed to the public after school hours, and the city wants to open up around 290 of them for public use. The plan, which will involve major construction work on about 190 of the schoolyards, is expected to cost about $114.5 million.…
Elementary school recess has no teacher-designed objectives, and many school districts throughout the country have abolished recess in favor of more time for academic learning. The schoolyard is notorious for being the place where children are most likely to squabble over equipment, call each other hurtful names, make disgusting faces, and mock, taunt, or bully younger children in order to demonstrate their own superiority. These two major conce…
Upon reading about the Great Wall Marathon I ask myself, "Is that really possible?" If you've been to the great wall (see insert I visited it in 2000) running on the great wall seems impossible basically because the steps are uneven, straight up and solid rock. However, it seems that last week a great many contestants did just that.

The Great Wall Marathon®
Marathon, Half Marathon, 10 km & 5 km on the Great Wall of China
17th Ma…
The 2008 federal discretionary budget request for the United States is $1.075 trillion. At the link below, you can find a graph that depicts the president’s budget request for 2008.. It will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress, ideally by October 1, to begin the next year. The discretionary budget includes spending that must be approved by Congress every year. It is paid for largely with your federal income taxes and includes all depar…
How do you convince kids to get off the computer or couch and get more active? Give them free passes to municipal pools, rinks, gyms and recreation centres, which is what occurred in Kingston, Ontario, when school district officials copied an idea which reportedly originated in Delta, B.C. The Kingston Gets Active and Active2010 initiative was formally evaluated by Queen's University researchers from the school of kinesiology and health stu…
Could prayer in schools be making a comeback?Two attorneys in California say it could.Late last week, a legal opinion letter was sent to San Diego's Board of Education by two attorneys on behalf of Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) – a legal group that protects religious freedom. In the letter, Pete Lepiscopo and former State Sen. Bill Morrow – who recently formed Lepiscopo & Morrow, LLP – argued for prayer rights for Christian and Jewish …
WASHINGTON, June 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Summer is here and with it comes trips to the local playground for a little frolic and fun. Sure, we all know that kids love to swing and slide and if you're lucky, your local playspace will accommodate these basic needs. But, what makes a great playground? What types of activities and equipment are going to stimulate your children so that they are getting most out of their playground experience…
Congresswoman Mary Bono (CA-45) joined forces today on the issue of children's health by urging Congress to support the Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act (IMPACT Act), H.R. 2677. The bill, which was introduced today by Bono and Congresswomen Nita M. Lowey (NY-18), Kay Granger (TX-12) and Congressman Jim Ramstad (MN-3), encourages cross-sector collaborations for improving the health of young people and ensures that community partne…
Trend setters??

The Prince George's County Board of Education recently passed a resolution just for the health of it. They supported legislation to increase time for daily physical activity for students during the recently completed legislative session.
At the May 17 board meeting, board members wore athletic gear from various county high schools, and they unanimously passed a resolution directing Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Deasy …
Wellness is a hot topic among parents and students in Lawrence public schools and school leaders say that means their controversial policy to help improve nutrition and fitness is a hit. Watch video of school board discussion.

District staff on Monday reported to the school board their progress on wellness goals set about a year ago. More than 75 percent of nutrition and nutrition education goals have been met, staff reported. Whole-grain foods…
Jersey's health department is escalating the battle against the bulge by starting a new Office of Nutrition and Fitness to better coordinate programs aimed at preventing obesity. The agency is particularly needed in New Jersey - possibly the first state to create such a government body. The Garden State has the highest percentage of overweight and obese children under age 5, at 17.7 percent, according to a 2004 survey by the U.S. Centers for…
A study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was designed to translate ACSM/CDC public health guidelines for 30 minutes of daily moderate-intensity physical activity into steps. Researchers at San Diego State University and Arizona State University utilized commercial pedometers on a community sample of adults. Their results support an approximate 100 step/minute recommendation for minimally moderate intensity. To meet ACSM/…
When Big Hollow School District 38 officials voted to cut lunch, gym, recess, the arts and extracurricular activities, among other programs, they appear to have violated a state open-meetings law and may have ignored some education code requirements, officials said Wednesday.

The Lake County state's attorney's office notified school officials that the board's May 21 vote was improper because the school board took final action on an is…
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveiled a new PPO plan that promises lower co-pays and deductibles for employees that take steps to stay healthy.Detroit-based Blue Cross announced the new plan Wednesday afternoon during the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. The plan, called Healthy Blue Incentives, will be offered to self-funded groups with 50 or more employees and is planned to launch in July.

Every morning there's school, rain or shine, Christina Parker shepherds a group of children through the woods in Newton."The kids love it," said Parker, 50. "It's obviously a tremendous way to start the day. It's healthy. It just makes a lot more sense to me to be walking instead of driving."Parker's flock came together informally. But such groups may soon get a boost from a bill pending in the Legislature tha…
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…
China's cabinet held a video-teleconference on Friday in Beijing to urge all schools to implement a guideline aimed at improving students' health. Zhou Ji, Minister of Education, called on all schools to take immediate measures to strengthen physical education and ensure students have one hour of sports every day. "High schools and primary schools should encourage students to spend more time on physical exercise," Zhou …
Somehow I missed the whole Shrek hysteria discussion. Not about the new release of the Shrek 3 but rather about using Shrek as the spokesman for the Health and Human Services Public Service Announcements (PSA's) encouraging children to lead healthy lives.

Citing the numerous junk food promotions linked to Shrek the Third, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) has launched a lette…
Somerville, Massachusetts went on a diet. The whole city. In an effort to curb childhood obesity schools cooked with fresh foods, offered fruits and vegetables, and adopted a new health curriculum. Restaurants in the town changed their portion sizes and switched to low-fat dairy products and offered fruit and veggies as side dishes. Program leaders taught yoga, soccer and dance. Then researchers met with parents, teachers and school officia…
Last October, Education Minister Gerard Kennedy, of Ontario Canada, announced a mandatory 20-minute minimum of physical activity in schools each day. In addition, schools were invited to take the healthy school challenge by starting a new healthy activity. More than 1,200 schools in Ontario have accepted the challenge. In addition to in-class activities and gym class three times a week, the whole school goes for a 20-minute morning walk in the …