IN THE NEWS

IN THE NEWS

Welcome to the first edition of the IN THE NEWS page.Here you will find information that I have put together as a resource .Check back often to accrue details in the field of physical education,health,dance,recreation and technology.

The latest research has put exercise at the forefront in the prevention, control and treatment of diabetes because it decreases insulin resistance. Following regular exercise training, cells can better respond to insulin and appropriately take up glucose out of the blood. Exercise also helps to decrease risk of cardiovascular disease by decreasing blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body fat. And for every 10 pounds of weight an individual loses, they will experience a 20 percent improvement in insulin sensitivity. Exercise Recommendations If you have type 2 diabetes, you should follow the following exercise guidelines: Cardiovascular: Aim for three to four days per week of moderate-intensity exercise for 20 to 60 minutes (walking and other non-weightbearing activities such as water aerobics and cycling are good choices). Daily exercise, however, is highly recommended. Resistance training: Follow a lower-resistance, lower-intensity program with one set of exercises for the major muscle groups, with 10 to 15 repetitions at least two days per week. Flexibility: At least two to three days per week, stretch major muscle groups to the point of tightness (not pain) for 15 to 30 seconds two to four times per stretch. The ultimate goal is to expend a minimum of 1,000 calories per week with physical activity for health benefits, or 2,000 calories per week for weight loss. Keep in mind that these are goals that you should work up to gradually over time.

McDonald’s is giving tykes a way to work off some of those Happy Meal calories. The fast-food giant is piloting the McDonald’s R Gym, a new in-restaurant exercise area designed to promote physical activity among children ages 4 to 12. McDonald’s has begun introducing play areas for children ages 4 to 12 that feature games that promote fitness, physical coordination and strength development.

CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) Seeks to affect children’s attitudes and behaviors towards nutrition and physical activity. In the largest school-based health promotion study that has ever been done in the United States, CATCH was shown to improve children’s food and activity behaviors, increase levels of activity in physical education classes, and reduce the fat content of school lunches.
school that adopts the CATCH program creates an environment that supports the adoption of healthy behaviors. Children not only learn about healthful eating and activity; they get to prepare and sample more healthful food choices. They learn to identify healthful physical activities and get to participate in physical activity that is fun, improves their level of physical fitness, and is intended to promote their interest in being physically active. Children are served more healthful school lunches and they, along with their families, get to try healthier foods and activities together. The healthy CATCH environment can even be extended to after school and community recreation settings. In a CATCH school, students are immersed in an environment that supports and encourages a healthy lifestyle.
More and more research suggests links between student health and learning. In an effort to improve the learning performance of children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed and promotes an 8 component model of coordinated school health. This model seeks to put in place the elements needed to support the adoption of healthy behaviors by students. The 8 components, working in conjunction with one another, can have a greater impact than any of the elements alone.
CATCH directly addresses 4 out of the 8 components in the CDC model- Health Education, Physical Education, Nutritional Services and Family/Community Involvement.

INTERNET 2

Here is a pipeline to the future of connectivity and distance learning. It's a super fast connection up to 50 times faster than cable. It is developed for advanced high speed networks. The upside is that there is no physical storage.It will connect from local colleges with school districts to enable video-conferencing and virtual field trips.As an example movie downloads that take 15 minutes can be done in a few seconds. This would be inherent for such things as robot surgery and deep sea cameras. It will be safe,secure, share computer ,teaching and curriculum resources along with networking.The downside is the cost(millions) and it may not be available to everyone(for now) and you must prearrange the time and place to interact.

Here is some information about drunk driving and what some car dealers are doing to combat the problem :

Experimenting with breathilizers to detect drunk driver
Developing A fail safe system for cars to detect drunk drivers with sensors.
System kicks in in any sign of excessive consumption
Detects abnormal steering
Special camers shows drivers pupils are in focus
Car slows to a halt

Discussion questions with students
1. Ask students why they think somebody would drive drunk
2. Student make proposals how to prevent drinking and driving
3. What are the potential outcomes, either a good or bad idea for installing the system sensors in cars
Click below for activities from Flaghouse

Here is a list of alternatives to recess given by Peaceful Playgrounds.You can either use the available text or download the pdf from their website. Also, below is a link that can be used to access Flaghouse activity guides . Along with the guides and recess alternatives is information from Nikeplus.Click on that link for details.Enjoy!

Fit4Learning Featured School/District
Greetings! You are in luck! Our featured Fit4Learning school/district is here to share with you the phenomenal success Fit4Learning is having reducing discipline problems, increasing retention in learning, shooting for exemplary scores, and practically eliminating tardies.
Annie Sims Elementary School Simply go to www.fit4learning.com and click on F4L Schools. The incredible principal Susy Wynn will speak to you herself about the happy learners at Annie Sims. And for an added bonus, go to www.fit4learning.com and click on Podcasts. Don't know what a Podcast is? No worries! Just click on the mp3 link at the Annie Sims place, and voila!! Your desktop will be talking to you. Fourteen testimonials of real teachers with the success using the Fit4Learning strategies.
Click on the link for podcasts to listen to fabulous teachers :

PE CENTRAL NEWS:
1. PE Public Service Announcement Videos Our friend Dr. Dolly Lambdin at the University of Texas at Austin has been working with her college students to develop public service announcements that depict the need for quality physical education. We are very excited to debut these here using our new PE Central Media Player. We hope you enjoy these terific PSA's. We are impressed with all 5 of them! We extend our sincerest thanks and congratulations to Dolly and her students for putting them together. We think you will enjoy showing them to your principals, parents, and your colleagues. If you go to the University of Texas at Austin Web site you can download them for FREE to your computer and distribute to whomever you wish! Let us know what you think of these terrific video clips.

SECRET to SLIM KIDS

Just 15 minutes a day of kicking a ball around or swimming might be enough to keep children from becoming obese,British and US researchers said on March 19th.2007.A study of 5,000 children who agreed to wear a motion sensor showed that those who exercises more were less likely to be obese-and that short bursts of intense activity seemed to be the most helpful.

Childen who did 15 minutes a day of moserate exercise -equivalent to a brisk walk -were 50% LESS LIKELY than inactive children to be obese."Our data suggest that higher intensity physical activity may be more important than total activity."" This study provises some of the first evidence on the link between physical activity and obesity in children."

"We know that diet is important ,but what this research tells us is that we must'nt forget about activity.It's been really surprising to us how even small amounts of exercise appear to have dramatic results."

It is clearly a matter of people eating more calories than they burn off to explain the obesity problem.The research team studied 5,00 children ,with an avaerage age od 12, who with their mothers have been taking part in a larger ,long term study of health.The children wore an accelerometer ,which measures total activity,and they had x-ray scans for body fat.The researchers rated the children with the top 10% levels of fat mass as obese.The study found the less the children exercised,the more likely they were to be obese."These associations suggest even a modest increase of 15 minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity might result in an important reduction in the prevalence of overweight and obesity."

FITNESS FACT OR FICTION TEST?

If my muscles are'nt sore the day after a workout,I haven't pushed myself hard enough
Doing sit ups will help me lose my love handles
Brisk walking is enough to keep my heart healthy
Brisk walking is enough to give me the body of an underwear model
Women shouldn't lift heavy weights because they will bulk up.
You can be fit and fat
To lose weight more efficiently,you should work out in the fat -burning zone.
If you stop exercising,muscle turn to fat.

HOW DID YOU DO? Newswise — People age 65 and older who regularly walk and get other forms of moderate exercise appear to significantly lower their risk of developing vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in the December 19, 2007, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The four-year study involved 749 men and women in Italy who were over age 65 and did not have memory problems at the beginning of the study. Researchers measured the amount of energy exerted in the participants’ weekly physical activities, including walking, climbing stairs, and moderate activities, such as house and yard work, gardening, and light carpentry. By the end of the study, 54 people developed Alzheimer’s disease and 27 developed vascular dementia. The study found the top one-third of participants who exerted the most energy walking were 27 percent less likely to develop vascular dementia than those people in the bottom one-third of the group. Participants who scored in the top one-third for the most energy exerted in moderate activities lowered their risk of vascular dementia by 29 percent and people who scored in the top one-third for total physical activity lowered their risk by 24 percent compared to those in the bottom one-third. “Our findings show moderate physical activity, such as walking, and all physical activities combined lowered the risk of vascular dementia in the elderly independent of several sociodemographic, genetic and medical factors,” said study author Giovanni Ravaglia, MD, with University Hospital S. Orsola Malpighi, in Bologna, Italy. “It’s important to note that an easy-to-perform moderate activity like walking provided the same cognitive benefits as other, more demanding activities.” Ravaglia says it’s possible that physical activity may improve cerebral blood flow and lower the risk of cerebrovascular disease, which is a risk factor for vascular dementia, but further research is needed about the mechanisms operating between physical activity and a person’s memory. Contrary to some reports, the study found that physical activity was not associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, but Ravaglia says more research is needed before concluding that Alzheimer’s disease is not preventable through exercise. The study was supported by grants from the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, Parkinson disease, and multiple sclerosis.

PE MAKES A COMEBACK
Kids are getting fatter. Obesity rates over the last 30 years have more than quadrupled for children ages 6 to 11 and more than tripled for youths ages 12 to 19. Our children and youths are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and even asthma. One way to battle bulging waistlines is to get kids moving. Experts recommend at least 60 minutes of physical activity five days a week for children. Almost 30 percent don’t exercise even three days a week. Lawmakers hope a return to physical education programs will help kids slim down and stay fit. Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas all passed laws this session with requirements for how much time students must spend in physical education classes or organized physical activity during the school day. About 40 laws have passed the past couple of years, but many states still lack PE time standards at all grade levels and classes that keep kids moving and having fun in a variety of activities. “Everything we want our young people to achieve is contingent upon their basic health,” says Texas Senator Jane Nelson, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. “We have to stop treating PE as optional, because it is as fundamental to the success of our students as reading, writing and arithmetic.” There’s mounting evidence that physical activity not only reduces the risk of chronic diseases, it also helps academic performance. And exercise contributes to the development and maintenance of healthy bones, muscles and joints, and reduces the risk for depression. Experts recommend that all children, from prekindergarten through grade 12, receive daily physical education taught by certified specialists, and that all schools have appropriate class sizes, facilities and equipment. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education recommends that elementary school students participate in physical education for 150 minutes per week at school, and middle and high school students for 225 minutes per week. The association also recommends that qualified physical education teachers provide a developmentally appropriate program, and that a teacher/student ratio similar to other classroom settings is maintained (no greater than one teacher for each 25 students in elementary school and 1/30 for middle and high school). The goal should be to make lifelong exercisers of all kids regardless of athletic ability. The Texas law, sponsored by Senator Nelson, requires 30 minutes of daily exercise for students in grades K-five this school year, and beginning next year, middle school students also will be covered (30 minutes a day, 135 minutes a week, or 225 minutes over two weeks). Annual, confidential fitness assessments also start this year for students in grades three through 12. Oregon’s law phases in physical education time requirements over the next decade, to provide a minimum of 150 minutes per week of physical education in elementary schools and 210 minutes per week in middle schools. School districts will be able to apply for $860,000 in grants to help train teachers. The state Department of Education will get $140,000 to gather information from districts about current physical education programs. “The return of physical activity to our classrooms will lead to healthy bodies and healthy minds for our children,” says Senate President Peter Courtney, the bill sponsor. In Florida, Representative Will Weatherford was the enthusiastic chief sponsor of a 2007 law that now requires 150 minutes of physical education each week for students in grades K–five and 225 minutes of weekly physical education for grades six–eight. Asked why he sponsored the legislation, Weatherford says, “I think that what’s happened over the last 20 years or so is that the obesity epidemic has really hit our youth. Normally, I don’t like government interfering with eating habits or physical activity habits, but it is our responsibility to ensure that when children are in school they do have activity. We should be creating a culture of physical activity.” Traveling around the state, Weatherford visited elementary schools, speaking to teachers, parents, administrators and students. Everyone is supportive, he says. The only concern raised was about taking time away from other school subjects. “Teachers like these kids going out and running around. And kids who go out and run around and burn off energy actually do better academically,” he says. Weatherford, himself an athlete from an active family of nine children, was also impressed by the research data. “Data indicate that all children should have 30 minutes a day of physical activity to stay healthy, and more would be even better.” And that’s not just for athletes, he says, “It could be dancing, or playing team sports or games with their classmates. Anything that gets the heart rate up, gets them out there and active and moving.” Across the aisle, Weatherford’s colleague, Representative Yolly Roberson, a co-sponsor of the legislation sees many benefits of physical education for kids, for everyone’s long-term health and for preventing health care costs. “I’m a nurse and I work in cardiac care,” she explains. “Almost every chronic disease in the nation is tied to obesity—heart attack, hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease. Obesity is a leading cause of the high cost of health care in the nation.” Preventing chronic disease and its costs by encouraging kids to exercise “is the best first step that we have taken in Florida,” says Roberson. “Government shouldn’t have to be involved, but it is necessary. Now every child in the state of Florida has a time when they can get out and be active.” Florida can be a “model,” Roberson adds. “I hope we will encourage all other states to follow in our footsteps. It’s a very important step in the fight against obesity. It’s small but very important.” Other states passed physical education legislation in 2007. California now requires each school to report its compliance with PE time and fitness requirements. New Mexico calls for phased-in elementary physical education, subject to funding, without time requirements. North Dakota now requires high schools to offer PE. Oklahoma added a PE task force, and elementary PE and recess time requirements. New Hampshire added PE to their list of what makes for an “adequate education.” Some legislatures turned to resolutions this session to get the PE ball rolling. Nevada urges public schools to preserve and strive to expand the amount of time allocated for physical activity, physical education and recess; and California, Florida and Pennsylvania set a week in May to observe National Physical Education and Sports Week. As rates of childhood obesity continue to rise, addressing the problem remains a pressing public health concern. Around the country, legislators want to help kids start running, dancing, and leaping to surmount the challenge and to learn a lifelong enjoyment of physical activity. Ways To Get Around No Money Does your school district need physical education but lack the resources? In poor schools with kids at high risk for inactivity and obesity, PE may be the only chance children have to be active in safe play-spaces and to try certain sports. A set of case studies from California provides ways to help schools overcome obstacles and provide students with high quality PE programs: Use supplemental funds from professional sports clubs (the NFL has just announced a new youth fitness initiative), local businesses, PTA and grants. Work with a local park or recreation center to expand facilities. Provide nontraditional PE games and activities that keep the whole class active and experiencing success at different skill levels. Schedule time for writing grants. Allocate funds in individual schools for PE equipment, teacher training and curricula. Source: San Diego State University, What Works for PE, October 2007.

PETPEEVES AND HEADLINES

MEDIA PLAYER

FIT FOR LEARNING

RECESS ALTERNATIVES

ACTIVITY GUIDES CLICK HERE

NIKEPLUS