High Blood Pressure in Kids Easy to Miss

High blood pressure in kids is often missed, according to a new study by Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and Harvard researchers. They studied more than 14,000 kids under the age of 18 and found that only 26 percent of those with high blood pressure were identified as such. Researchers say part of the problem is that normal blood pressure ranges change according to the child’s age, gender and height. Fewer would go undiagnosed, researchers said, if doctors had access to software programs that calculated blood pressure based on a child’s age, gender and height.

To read more, go to the complete story “High Blood Pressure in Kids Easy to Miss.”

Tuned-In Parents Help Ease Student Stress

Parents who stay tuned in to their kids at the beginning of the school year can do a lot to ease the stress kids may be feeling, according to mental health professionals.

They recommend parents take time each day to ask about what happened in school and provide positive feedback about these new experiences. They also suggest parents make an effort to learn about how the child is developing socially and emotionally, as well as physically. This is another way for parents to identify when things aren’t right with the child.

Click on this National Mental America website to read the story, “Back to School.”

FDA Proposes New Rule for Sunscreen Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today proposed a new regulation that sets standards for formulating, testing and labeling over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen drug products with ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) protection.

“For more than 30 years, consumers have been able to identify the level of UVB protection provided by sunscreens using only sunburn protection factor or SPF values,” said Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Under the proposal, “consumers will also now know the level of UVA protection in sunscreens, which will help them make informed decisions about protecting themselves and their children against the harmful effects of the sun.”

Read the complete story from the FDA.

When it Comes to Exercise Every Little Bit Helps

Those who don’t like to exercise can take comfort in the results of a study that shows even low levels of weekly exercise—as low as just 30 minutes of brisk walking three days a week–can boost the health of otherwise healthy, sedentary adults.

Dr. Mark A. Tully, of University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, and colleagues, who performed the study, included 106 healthy but sedentary adults between the ages of 40 and 61 years in the 12-week study. Researchers saw a drop in blood pressure and a rise in overall fitness with the limited amount of exercise.

Read the story from Medlineplus.

A Teacher’s Wish List for Parents

If teachers could give parents assignments, just as they do their new students this first week of school, they would probably ask them to please be involved, because this helps students learn, improves schools and helps teachers work with you to help children succeed, according to the National PTA.

They’d also ask that parents provide learning resources at home and use pressure positively. And there is more. Click on this WDBO News-Talk Radio website to read about the “Top Ten Things Teachers Wish Parents Would Do.”

Study: Early Diet Advice for Kids Sticks

Healthy habits taught when kids are young stick around even when kids become teenagers, according to a new study. In the study, children in Finland were taught to focus on healthy fats—found in fish, nuts, seeds etc. In later years, they were found to have a slightly lower cholesterol level than those who did not restrict fats. 

The study shows, according to the researchers, that lifestyle changes can be started early.  Click on this the story “Study: Early Diet Advice for Kids Sticks”  on the Intelihealth website to find out more information. 

How to Conquer Back to School Stress

The start of a new school year is stressful for parents as well as kids. For parents, there are a variety of  stressors such as Time Stress, having to find time to tend to homework and activities; Money Stress—the expenses that accompany even public schools; Health Stress—worrying about children getting nutritious food during the day and Clueless Stress—the unsettling feeling that comes when kids start bringing home different attitudes and beliefs. This story on the KeepKidsHealthy.com website offers suggestions to parents on how to cope.Read the complete story at KeepKidsHealthy.com

Math, exercise, nutrition linked

SPRINGFIELD – Since participating in the FitMath program at the M. Marcus Kiley Middle School this summer, Stefania Falvo, 10, said she is eating more vegetables and less junk food.

“I have been learning a lot about how to stay fit,” said Stefania, one of about 65 children taking part in the six-week enrichment program. It integrates math with exercise, while providing instruction on good nutrition, active living and relaxation techniques.

In the Kiley gym one morning this month, children in small groups were jotting down figures in notebooks after lifting weights, skipping rope and jumping on trampolines. But instead of competing against one another, they were focused on improving individual performance.

Read the Story at MassLive.com

New state law has students (and teachers) hoppin’

BY HANNAH SAMPSON

The fifth-graders at Colbert Elementary School had just finished their first physical education class of the school year on Wednesday — games of tic-tac-toe in which they were the X’s and O’s.”I’d like to do two hours of P.E. every day,” proclaimed Kayona Bailey, 10, who attends the Hollywood year-round school.

While that wish isn’t likely to come true, elementary schools all over Florida — who already have their days full preparing kids for standardized tests — are now scrambling to meet a new state law that requires 150 minutes of physical education every week.

That means recess will be transformed, with planned activities to keep kids moving, and schools will have to find time in their days to study nutrition or fitness or take part in exercises shown over TVs.

State legislators passed the law in an effort to combat an obesity crisis among today’s youth; statistics show that the percentage of overweight kids between ages 6 and 19 has more than tripled since 1980.

Read the complete article in the Miami Herald

Their mission: Nutrition

USA TODAY’s Nanci Hellmich talks to three women with the same goal: to make sure kids are getting more nutritious foods every day — at school, in restaurants and at home.

Sylvia Dunn calls fruit “nature’s candy” and teaches children to think of it as a tasty dessert.

As the school food services supervisor for St. Tammany Parish Public School System in Covington, La., Dunn has spent 26 years trying to teach students to eat and enjoy nutritious foods. “We are the bedroom of New Orleans, and food is very important in this part of the country,” she says.

Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy group, has been working for years to get soda, candy, snack cakes and other processed foods out of schools.

A few years ago, MeMe Roth of New York City was so concerned about escalating obesity and the marketing of “fake foods” to children that she founded the advocacy group National Action Against Obesity. She’s a former corporate public relations and marketing executive and the mother of two children, ages 6 and 8.

Read more about Sylvia, Margo and MeMe in the complete article at USAToday.com