Gov. Schwarzenegger announced actions to fight obesity and promote healthy living on Wed at the CA Obesity Summit in Los Angeles.

“My top priorities include the health and well-being of our children and all Californians, and reducing obesity will help improve both,” said Governor Schwarzenegger.

“At the 2010 Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity, the link between fitness and educational success, the importance of making sure kids have healthy …

A quick update from last week's blog in case you have not been following the soda tax controversy. In the past year, Capitol Hill and even the President have said that taxing sugary soft drinks may be a good way to reduce consumption and create a $50B revenue stream for the federal government over the next decade.

The legislation didn't for forward in Congress but CA legislators are looking at their own version of a soda tax.

California…

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…

Peaceful Playgrounds February 2010 Grants Newsletter has been released.
Articles include: Schools Role in the Childhood Obesity Crisis

Grant information

CVS Caremark Community Grants
Coca-Cola Foundation Grants
Peaceful Pathways. Reducing Exposure to Violence
Shade Structure Program
ING Unsung Heros Grants
Finish Line Youth Foundation Grants

Alarming new study indicates that children burdened with overweight and obesity were twice as likely to die before 55 compared to their thinnest counterparts. Most effected were the children with the pre-diabetes diagnosis.

The study, published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, analyzed data gathered from Pima and Tohono O’odham Indians, whose rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes soared decades before weight problems became widesp…

The Obama administration will begin a drive this week to expel Pepsi, French fries and Snickers bars from the nation’s schools in hopes of reducing the number of children who add pounds during their school years, according to the New York Times.

In legislation, soon to be introduced, candy and sugary beverages would be banned and many schools would be required to offer more nutritious fare. The announcement is expected to come today, President&#…

The poster is part of First Lady Michelle Obama's campaign against childhood obesity entitled, "Let's Move."

For a short video and components of the Let's Move Initiative visit the website.

Groups ask First Lady to consider an "outdoor component" in her childhood obesity fight.
Excerpt from the letter below:


Dear Mrs. Obama:

On behalf of our tens of millions of members and supporters, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for your commitment to combating childhood obesity. We applaud your childhood obesity initiative for promoting improvements in school lunches, access to healthy foods, physical activity and nutriti…

The New York Times ran an article, Play, Then Eat: Shift May Bring Gains at School.

"Can something as simple as the timing of recess make a difference in a child’s health and behavior?

Some experts think it can, and now some schools are rescheduling recess — sending students out to play before they sit down for lunch. The switch appears to have led to some surprising changes in both cafeteria and classroom."

Here at Peaceful Playground…

Two recent studies emphasize the importance of fitness for brain health.

In one of the studies, published earlier this month in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, 8,800 people who were 25 and older were followed for six and a half years. The study found that each hour of television they watched daily was associated with an 18 percent increase in deaths from heart disease and an 11 percent increase in mortality rates overal…

The idea of a tax on soda seemed like a good one to many people. After all, the sugar in soda and the resulting increase in calorie consumption has been a concern to health advocates for some time.

Well. Put that on the back burner for now. According the the LA Times, "Employing a broad-based lobbying effort, the soft drink industry has smothered a plan to tax sugared beverages -- a plan advocates said would have reduced obesity and helped…

This is a press release from the NASPE office regarding the 2011 proposed PEP Grant changes.




Obama Administration Proposes Changes to PEP Program for FY 2011

RESTON, VA, February, 2010 – In an effort to streamline the Department of Education (USDE)'s programs and increase effectiveness, the President's FY 2011 budget contains major changes to the PEP grant program. According to the USDE Website, the President's budget proposes to elimi…

Who knew that principals thought recess was so important? In fact, according to a research report entitled, "The State of Play", released yesterday, an overwhelming majority of principals (96%) conclude that recess has a positive impact on social development and (97%) of principals believe that recess has a positive impact on general well-being. But that's not all, 80% of them said recess has a positive impact on academic achiev…

Picture Wikipedia

First Lady Michelle Obama announced that next week she will be releasing her action plan to tackle the childhood obesity crisis. With 17% of school children obese and one third overweight a national agenda spearheaded by the First Lady may be just what the doctor ordered.

At a press conference she made her intent known. She plans on crafting specific solutions to the childhood obesity crisis. "She wants to get families, sc…

First he took on global warming in the film, "An inconvenient truth." Now documentary filmmaker, Davis Guggenheim is taking on public education in his new film, "Waiting for Superman".

Waiting for Superman examines the 'crisis' of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories-from a handful of students and their families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers t…

The American Academy of Dermatology's Shade Structure Program awards grants in the amount of $8,000 each for the purchase of permanent shade structures designed to provide shade and ultraviolet (UV) ray protection for outdoor areas. The AAD also provides a permanent sign to be displayed near the shade structure that promotes the importance of sun safety. The AAD receives support for this program from Johnson Johnson Consumer Products Company…

Public Skatepark Grants

The purpose of the Tony Hawk Foundation is to foster lasting improvements in society, with an emphasis on supporting and empowering youth. The Foundation is currently offering funding to build high-quality, public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States.

Awards range between $1,000 and $25,000.

Eligible organizations include public charities, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, state or local agencies, a…