There aren’t many physical challenges that measure up to running a marathon. In Los Angeles, volunteers have helped thousands of low-income middle and high school students train for and complete the L.A. marathon each March, changing some lives along the way. Holly St. Lifer reports.
With obesity rates rising among the young -- along with related health problems -- new attention is being paid to how well schools are meeting students' need for healthy levels of physical activity. Meanwhile, recess is on the endangered list in many districts, and daily gym classes are a rarity. Join us for a July 12th Talktime Live! online chat with three experts on the important role schools can play in developing lifelong healthy habits, and on the challenges involved in getting kids moving in school.
Thanks to new legislation, schools across the country have to roll out comprehensive new wellness policies before the start of the next school year. It's an issue that the Girl Scouts of America has been focusing on, so Connect for Kids decided to find out what Girl Scouts across the country have to say about staying healthy and how schools can help. Sisters Lauren and Megan from Columbia, S.C. kick off a series of interviews prepared by Emerson Hunger Fellow Roshin Mathew.
While the federal government has played a role in regulating school feeding programs for low-income children for about 40 years now, school districts are now working to comply with a new, much broader federal requirement calling for the development of local "wellness policies" that address issues of all the foods and drinks made available to all students during the school day, along with nutrition education, physical education, and the encouragement of healthy habits. Roshin Mathew explains.
New research on Swedish twins—published in the March issue of the U.S. journal, Archives of General Psychiatry—suggests that anorexia nervosa may be inherited, and linked with anxiety and/or depression early in life. Noting that this is not a "disorder of choice," researchers posit that a genetic predisposition may be triggered by environmental factors. Anorexia has highest death rate of any mental illness; this study may influence identification and treatment.
The headline says it all: "Inequality in the Built Environment Underlies Key Health Disparities in Physical Activity and Obesity." That's the bottom line from a new study in the journal Pediatrics, which finds that areas with higher socio-economic status were significantly more likely than lower-economic and high-minority blocks to have one or more recreational facilities that enable physical activity. This is the first study to look at the disparity in access to recreation sites and the activity and overweight patterns in U.S. teens.
CFK reports from: The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living Event: Release of research report; panel discussion Organized by: Girl Scout Research Institute Where/When: National Press Club, Washington DC, Wednesday, January 25, 2006
This latest report by the research arm of the Girls Scouts of the U.S.A. takes a look at the attitudes of girls aged 8 to 17 towards healthy living, weight, body image and exercise. It's based on focus group interviews in four communities, an online survey of more than 2,000 girls and their mothers, and a separate survey of 400 African American, Latina and Asian girls.
Teamwork. Friends. Healthy exercise. That's the upside of organized sports and activities for kids. But what about the downside? Loss of family time. Stress. Weekends in the car. Andrea Grazzini Walstrom decided to take action to reclaim at least part of each precious weekend. Walstrom talks about the birth of Balance4Success, the group she started in Minnesota.
Reactions to the new federal dietary guidelines released on Jan. 12, 2005 have ranged from surprised to frankly skeptical as the gap between the recommendations and reality sinks in. Connect for Kids Editor Susan Phillips went looking for advice on putting the guidelines to work for children and teens.
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