Nick Veasey/Getty Images

For some time, researchers have known that exercise changes the structure of the brain and affects thinking.

Ten years ago scientists at the Salk Institute in California published the groundbreaking finding that exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells. But fundamental questions remain, like whether exercise must be strenuous to be beneficial. Should it be aerobic? What about weight lifting? And are the cognit…

Did I get enough exercise today? How many calories did I burn? Am I getting good quality sleep? How many steps and miles did I walk today? If these questions seem interesting and you want answers check out a new product called Fitbit Tracker.

View calories, steps and distance on the Fitbit Tracker itself. You can login to the Fitbit website to see even more detailed data and also participate in collaborative fitness goals with friends, family and…

Researchers in London were fooled by children taking part in a study to measure how much exercise they do. It seems that when step counts were unusually high they find out that clever children had increased their numbers by attaching their pedometers to their pet dogs.

The pilot study in Whitechapel required 11 and 12-year-olds to clip a pedometer to their waists, with researchers at the center collecting the readings by satellite.

"But after…

New research from the UK suggests that improving students' lunch experience can improve their behavior and classroom concentration by almost 20% in the afternoon.

A School Food Trust (SFT) study found that improving food and dining facilities had a positive effect on pupils' behavior and meant they were better at working on their own. This study was conducted in secondary schools across England and included a control group.

The study …

A play-deprived childhood disrupts normal social, emotional and cognitive development in humans and animals. “Free play,” as scientists call it, is critical for becoming socially adept, coping with stress and building cognitive skills such as problem solving. Research into animal behavior confirms play’s benefits and establishes its evolutionary importance: ultimately, play may provide animals (including humans) with skills that will help them s…

In both sports and life some people surface as "team players." They are the folks that sacrifice individual interests for the good of all members of a team or group.

In life these folks might be labeled, "consistent contributors." A new study identified those folks as people who consistently give even when others don't. It seems these folks play an important leadership role and their example influences others to gi…

You've hear the saying, "like mother like daughter" or "father like son" but that may not be the case when it comes to eating behaviors. A study released on parent-child dietary intake found variances in eating habits both in food groups and nutrients. The study was conducted by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health.

A "walk in the park" may be just what the teacher ordered. A recent study suggests that walking in nature might actually benefit your brain.

The study published in Psychological Science and conducted by University of Michigan researchers, found that when people spent time in nature, as opposed to an urban environment, their attention and memory improved. The authors argue that nature captivates people’s involuntary attention while all…

The Rand Research Corporation released a study indicating that a "nearly free" resource in the childhood obesity crisis is the local school park or playground. The study found that "girls who live farther than a half-mile from a school playground have a 3-percent higher body mass index than girls who do have playgrounds within a half mile of where they live."

The impact of the built environment on helping children and youth…

"Researchers at the University of Exeter have found that kids' natural short bursts of play energy contribute just as much to a healthy lifestyle as longer bouts of organized exercise, such as gym class," according to sports columnist Dan Peterson.

Researchers, Michelle Stone and Roger Eston of Exeter's School of Sport and Health Sciences reported their findings in the April edition of the International Journal of Pediatric Obes…

In case you missed it, this week Time Magazine has an article entitled, "Gym Class: Why kids' exercise matters less than we think." The article cites the information from last weeks blog post entitled, "Physical Activity : Is it influenced by Physical Education?"

The study and Time article questioned the value of physical education as an obesity intervention based on the research finding that the total weekly physical a…

Children's lack of physical activity was one of the top 10 health concerns in 2008, according to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

Accordingly some parents are turning to Kids Fitness Clubs offered through fitness centers and YMCA's. Membership in the Kids Fitness Club costs in the neighborhood of $100 for every eight sessions. It remains to be seen if parents are turni…

AP - A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age.

A new study out of the University of South Carolina found that 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds in preschool are anything but physically active, even during playtime outdoors.

Given recent findings and data on childhood obesity, the results should unsettle parents and health professionals. An estimated 60% of the nation's 3- to 5-year-olds who are not in kindergarten are enrolled in center-based preschools, and previous studies show more than one-qua…

A new study from Pediatrics June 08 found that non-competitive games resulted in more physically active children when compare to competitive games. It seems that most competitive games (included in the study) involved games of elimination which limited participation time. More students reported enjoying participating in games of elimination however.

"This study highlights the importance of quality over quantity in a physical activity ses…

Last week there were an abundance of articles and news coverage regarding the Journal of the American Medical Association (CDC data) study that found U.S. childhood obesity rates may be leveling off after surging for more than two decades. I found it difficult to get very excited about these new revelations. I will admit that "leveling off" is better than "gaining" (no pun intended) .

It reminds me of the visual of a boat…

Relationships between the home environment and physical activity and dietary patterns of preschool children was reported in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Journal last month.

They found that 3 factors influenced the amount of children's physical activity at home. 1. parental physical activity, 2. size of backyard, and 3. amount of outdoor play equipment.

Preschoolers in Family Care Homes Need More Phy…

Childhood obesity is the public health crisis affecting the world!

Explore:
1) What lead to the current epidemic?
2) What research tells us about the schools’ influence on childhood obesity?
3) What schools can do?

USDA Eat Smart Play Hard
for free materials!

http://www.fns.usda.gov/EATSMARTPLAYHARD/
LISTEN HERE

I read an article today that definitely fits into the "pretending not to know what we know" category identified by esteemed educational researcher Carl Glickman. Such was the title of an article by Glickman in the early 80's . I think his reasoning is still applicable today.... Consider the story below.

In San Diego, CA Physical Education teacher Jessica Casilla encourages students to, "Come walk. Come on, warm up that body…

A new study on outdoor physical activity in preschool children identified some unexpected barriers. “It’s things we never expected, from flip flops, mulch near the playground, children who come to child care without a coat on chilly days, to teachers talking or texting on cell phones while they were supposed to be supervising the children,” according to Kristen Copeland, M.D., lead author of the study which was funded by the National Heart, L…