Special Health Notice From OCPS

With all the current news about Staph and MRSA (methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infections, Orange County Public School District officials are passing along information about its causes and treatment.

The letter notes that the best ways to keep Staph infections from spreading are to wash hands often or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with bandages. It also is important not to touch other people’s cuts or bandages and to not share personal items like towels and razors.

To read more, go to the Special Health Notice on the OCPS web page.

Exercise Improves Thinking, Reduces Diabetes Risk in Overweight Kids

Just three months of daily, vigorous physical activity in overweight children improves their thinking and reduces their diabetes risk, researchers say. Studies of about 200 overweight inactive children ages 7-11 also showed that a regular exercise program reduces body fat and improves bone density.

“We hope these findings will help persuade policymakers, schools and communities that time spent being physically active enhances, rather than detracts, from learning,” says Dr. Catherine Davis, clinical health psychologist at the Medical College of Georgia and lead investigator.

Click here to read more about this Medical College of Georgia report.

Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine Recommended for Young Children

A panel of immunization experts has voted to expand the recommendation for the nasal spray flu vaccine to include healthy children from 2 to 5 years of age who are healthy and don’t have a history of asthma or wheezing. (The advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that made the recommendation advises the CDC on vaccine issues.)

The vaccine had previously been limited to healthy children aged 5 and older and healthy adults up to age 50.

The CDC recommends all children age 6 months to 59 months be vaccinated against the flu.

Go to the CDC website to learn more about the nasal spray.

CDC Says Schools Getting Healthier

U.S. schools have made considerable improvements in their policies and programs to promote the health and safety of students, particularly in the areas of nutrition, physical activity and tobacco use, says a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the agency says more needs to be done to strengthen school health and wellness policies and programs.

The study says states prohibiting schools from offering junk foods in vending machines increased from eight percent in 2000 to 32 percent in 2006, and the percentage of school districts doing so increased from four percent to 30 percent, according to the study.

To read more, go to the CDC website.

Winter Park Family Fall Festival Coming Up

Winter Park’s Family Fall Festival, a kick-off event for Orange County’s celebration of National Family Week which focuses on strengthening the community by strengthening families, will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27 in Central Park on Park Avenue.

Fun family events will include a children’s costume parade, old-fashioned hay rides, a pumpkin patch in the park, swimming pool safety tips, musical art-making by the Central Florida Music Studio and entertainment by The Outer Toons.

The Winter Park Health Foundation will be on site to introduce the new, free Healthy Fun & Fitness Guide to Winter Park. It provides tips on biking and walking trails, parks, as well as places to swim, boat, jog and play tennis.

Web-based Autism Glossary Launched

Autism Speaks, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research, together with the First Signs organization and Florida State University, have launched a first-of-its kind web-based video glossary to help parents and professionals learn more about the early warning signs of autism spectrum disorders.

The glossary, available free of charge at www.autismspeaks.org, www.firstsigns.org and firstwords.fsu.edu, contains more than a hundred video clips that illustrate both typical and atypical development.

Click here to read the complete story.

Study Reports on Adolescent Substance Abuse

On an average day in 2006 nearly 1.2 million teenagers smoked cigarettes, 631,000 drank and 586,000 used marijuana, according to the latest data, in a first-of-a-kind report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The report, which highlights the substance abuse behavior and addiction treatment activities that occur among adolescents on an average day, draws on national surveys conducted and analyzed by SAMHSA’s Office of Applied Studies.  It presents a stark picture of the daily toll substance abuse takes on kids.

Read more about the study at the SAMHSA website.

Don’t Forget: Dommerich Elementary Hosts Healthy Foods Cook-Off on Oct. 10

Dommerich Elementary School will host “Ready, Set, Cook and Eat”–a celebrity chef and student cook-off designed to inspire healthy family eating–at 7 p.m. October 10 in the school’s cafeteria at 1900 Choctaw Trail, Maitland.

The free event was created by Healthy Kids Challenge, a national, nonprofit organization led by registered, licensed dietitians dedicated to getting kids and families to eat healthfully and exercise. It will be emceed by the group’s director, Vickie James, RD, LD.

Peer-Led, School-Based Anti-Obesity Program a Success

Older and younger students paired up as “Health Buddies” had a positive impact on the health of both groups, according to a report in the October issue of “Pediatrics” magazine.

Participants in this Canadian pilot program included students in fourth through seventh grade who were paired with and mentored younger students in kindergarten through third grade.  The older students acted as teachers providing lessons on nutrition, physical activity and healthy body image. As a result, younger and older students improved their knowledge of healthy living components, and older students lost weight.

Read more about the program by connecting to the American Academy of Pediatrics website.

Teach Kids the Facts About Steroid Use

With all of the news about athletes relying on steroids for peak performance, it is a good time for parents to talk to the young athletes in their family about the dangers of using performance-enhancing drugs. Experts say kids in middle and high school are using them too.

This article from the Mayo Clinic talks about the different types of drugs and supplements now on the market and explains the negative side effects.  It also includes advice to parents on how to approach the subject with kids.

Click here to read the Mayo Clinic story.