Soccer’s a Winner for Building Bone Health in Girls

The sport of soccer gets an A plus when it comes to helping girls prevent low bone density when they get older.

Sports like soccer, which has a combination of weight-bearing exercise and repetitive “impact-loading” activities including jumping and running, help build bone density better than some other sports.

To read the complete HealthDay story and find out other things kids can do to build strong bones, go to the Medlineplus website.

TV Turnoff Week Good for the Whole Family

Too much TV isn’t good for anyone, especially children and teens who spend more than a couple of hours each day in front of TV and computer screens. That’s why organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are supporting national TV Turnoff Week, April 21-27.

“We know that the more time a child spends in front of the TV or computer, the more likely he or she is to be overweight,” said Acting U.S. Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H. “Kids are spending more time sitting in front of screens every day than they do anything else except perhaps sleeping. For Turnoff Week, we are asking parents to turn off the scrreens and get active with their kids.”

Read more on the NIH website.

Girls Playing Sports in Record Numbers But Barriers Remain

A new report from the University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport shows that girls are participating in sports in record numbers, but their participation in physical activity outside organized sports is declining, especially as they move from childhood into adolescence.

The report, “Developing Physically Active Girls: An Evidence-based Multidisciplinary Approach,” summarizes the most recent research on the physical, psychological, social and cultural benefits girls get from participating in sports and physical activity, the  barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential and the kinds of environments in which girls learn how to develop and foster the best parts of themselves on and off playing fields.

Click here to read the complete story from the University of Minnesota.

Neighborhoods Have Big Impact on Resident Activity

Neighborhoods have a big impact on how much residents exercise, according to a Chicago study.

“We can’t encourage people to exercise more without looking at the neighborhood environment in which they live,” said study co-author Christopher Browning, an associate professor of sociology at Ohio State University. “Some people may have the personal resources and desire to exercise but don’t live in a neighborhood in which they feel comfortable to go outside for activities.”

Click hereto read more about this HealthDay story.

High Blood Pressure is a Family Affair

High blood pressure is the kind of inheritance you don’t want to leave to the kids, but researchers say a long-term study emphasizes the existence of that genetic link.

“What we found was that if parents have hypertension early, their children have a significantly higher risk of developing hypertension at an early age,” said Nae-Yuh Wang, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University and lead author of a report in the March 24 issue of the “Archives of Internal Medicine.” “If the parents develop hypertension at the age of 55 or earlier, the lifetime risk for the children is seven-fold higher than normal.”

Read more by clicking on the Medlineplus website.

Gov. Crist Unveils Fitness Challenge for Elementary Schools

Gov. Charlie Crist has announced the 2007-2008 Governor’s Fitness Challenge for Elementary Schools to help schools and families boost the physical fitness of Florida students, and all eight Winter Park Consortium Schools already have signed up.

The Challenge is an eight-week event that encourages elementary students to join in physical activity and it focuses on five activities that can be completed during or after the school day.

Participating schools have the chance to win $10,000 or $5,000 worth of sports or fitness equipment or a visit from a Florida professional athlete or Olympian. The deadline for registration is March 7.

Click here to read more about the program.

Skipping Breakfast May Mean Adding Pounds

Eating breakfast–particularly a healthy one–is a great way to start the day, and, according to yet another study, can mean a trimmer body.

“There’s a pretty significant inverse association between how frequently kids report eating breakfast and how much weight they gain over time, and we took into account other dietary factors and physical activity,” said Mark Pereira, co-author of the study, published in the March issue of “Pediatrics.”

Read the complete story on the Healthfinder website by clicking here.

Third Annual Fast Start Invitational Draws 600 Plus Kids

Some 600 elementary school children of all ages and sizes from Winter Park Consortium Schools participated in the Third Annual Fast Start Invitational Track and Field Event at Showalter Field on January 26.

Despite the sporadic rain showers, the event drew 50 to 60 more students than last year. And event organizer Scott Millson estimated that if the weather had been better, the total would have been closer to 650 to 700.

Read more about the event by clicking here.

Smile Mile Gives Kids Another Chance to Run

The Smile Mile, a one-mile children’s race for kids age five to 11, begins at 8 a.m. Saturday at Blue Jacket Park at Baldwin Park in Orlando. One school from each county with the highest participation wins a plaque and a $500 Track Shack Foundation grant for physical education programs. To qualify, a school must have at least 25 runners participating.

Kids receive a t-shirt and finisher’s medal provided by the Musante Family Trust in support of kids health and fitness.

Visit the Track Shack website for more information.

Pedometers Help Peel Off Pounds

Pedometers do a good job of getting people to walk more, and this results in weight loss, though it might be modest, according to new research.

The findings are published in the January/February issue of the “Annals of Family Medicine,” and the study lead author was Dr. Caroline R. Richardson, assistant professor in the department of family medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Richardson and her team analyzed data collected in nine pedometer-based walking studies held between 1995 and 2006 in which previously sedentary or overweight participants got motivated to start walking programs with pedometers.  They found “remarkably consistent” results showing nearly all ended up losing some weight by the end of the study.

Read the complete HealthDay news story by clicking here.