Connect for Kids / Child Advocacy 360 / Youth Policy Action Center - Fitness

Neighborhood Factors Influence Youth Participation in Programs

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:37:21 -0500

A new Child Trends brief finds that youth who have not participated in out-of-school time programs are significantly more likely than are their participating peers to live in an unsupportive neighborhood; to spend more than two hours a day watching TV or playing video games; and to have parents who are in poor health, who don't exercise, and who have less than a high school education.

Girls & Women in Sports Day

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:31:42 -0600

February 4, 2009 is National Girls and Women in Sports Day. On his blog, "The Dad Man" Joe Kelly has tips on what fathers can do with daughters tips on what fathers can do with daughters.

Project Play

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:22:44 -0600

Project Play is an initiative to inspire families and neighborhoods to play traditional backyard games like "Follow the Leader," "Treasure Hunt," or "Kick the Can"-games that demand imagination and foster creativity. Through a series of lively hardcover children's books featuring a group of active neighborhood kids, Project Play provides guidance to parents and children for getting back to basics and enjoying the joy and freedom of playtime. In addition, Project Play encourages parents to make play a priority-for as founder and author Marlene Byrne believes-it is as equally important to be creative and imaginative as it is to be smart.

Youth Movement: The Extreme Version

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 09:49:14 -0500

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.

A Pitch for Fitness in Schools

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:40:47 -0500

Transcript of live chat (7/12/2006)

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.

Scouting Out School Wellness

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:35:28 -0500

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.

National Physical Education and Sport Week

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 10:21:58 -0500

Start: May 1 2006 - 12:00am

End: May 7 2006 - 11:59pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT+5

May 1 - 7 is National Physical Education and Sport Week.

Schools Face New Mandate on "Wellness"

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:54:46 -0500

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.

Anorexia Might Have Genetic Link

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:22:22 -0500

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.

Facilities in the Neighborhood Matter to Teen Obesity and Weight

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:19:45 -0500

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.

The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:18:35 -0500

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.

Putting the Brakes on Sports

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:16:13 -0500

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.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:43:15 -0500

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.

Does the Built Environment Influence Physical Activity?

Tue, 01 Feb 2005 08:57:50 -0600

This National Academies' Transportation Research Board report explores the link between the "built" environment—buildings, roads, parks, and other structures that
physically define a community—and physical activity levels.

Understanding & Preventing Obesity in Young Kids

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:51:24 -0500

Transcript of live chat (11/17/2004)

The nation's obesity epidemic is no secret. By now, we're all aware that Americans are fatter than ever, and growing ever fatter. We know that kids are not exempt, and that excess weight threatens kids' health, academic achievement, social development, and more.