From January to June 2008 US state lawmakers continued to address the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic. Legislators in 39 states introduced or acted on at least 320 bills related to obesity-prevention measures. Get a quick overview in this 15 page report fron RWJF.
Archive for category Physical Activity
A Report on State Action to Promote Nutrition, Increase Physical Activity and Prevent Obesity
Apr 15
Enjoy the motivational, practical and some what alternative suggestions for how to transforming your body from out of shape to fit as a fiddle.
Every 3 months for 5 years, 1028 highly active students initially in grade 7 (aged 12-13 years) completed a 7-day physical activity recall and provided data on the number and type of (extracurricular) physical activities organised at school and in the community in which they took part. Although participation in organised physical activities during early adolescence is associated with more physical activity throughout secondary school, participation in such activities does not protect against declines in physical activity over time.
According to researchers at Kansas State University active commuting — walking or biking to school or work — can be an easy, effective and efficient way to integrate physical activity into the daily routine. They did two surveys, administered in 2008, which looked at demographics, psychosocial factors and environmental characteristics related to active commuting. A survey of more than 800 individuals at K-State was conducted, followed by another survey of 400 Manhattan area residents.
3135 boys and girls in grades 1-4 were included in this new Swedish study. Low-fat dairy products and whole-grain bread were promoted and all sweets and sweetened drinks were eliminated in intervention schools. Physical activity (PA) was aimed to increase by 30 min per day during school time and sedentary behaviour restricted during after school care time. PA was measured by accelerometry. No weight difference between intervention and controls was found after cluster adjustment. However, a larger proportion of the children who were initially overweight reached normal weight in the intervention group (14%) compared with the control group (7.5%). PA did not differ between intervention and control schools after cluster adjustment.
Researchers have determined that a rate of at least 100 steps per minute achieves moderate intensity activity. Therefore a simple pedometer-based recommendation of 3000 steps in 30 minutes can get people started on a meaningful exercise program. The study is published in the May 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Environmental and policy interventions were effective in increasing physical activity at school among boys but not girls. The interventions were not effective in reducing fat intake at school. School environmental and policy interventions have the potential to improve health behavior of the student population, but barriers to full implementation need to be better understood and overcome.
A pioneer in research on play, Dr. Stuart Brown says humor, games, roughhousing, flirtation and fantasy are more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults — and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age. Enjoy this amazing talk on video.
Many communities lack safe, adequate places for children and their families to exercise and play. Schools might have a variety of recreational facilities’”gymnasiums, playgrounds, fields, courts, tracks’”but many districts close their property to the public after school hours because of concerns about costs, vandalism, security, maintenance, and liability in the event of injury. Now city, county, and town governments can partner with school districts through what are known as joint use agreements to address these concerns. A formal agreement can set forth the terms and conditions for the shared use of public property. Find the legal tools here.
The purpose of this study is to compare self-reported time (by questionnaire) and objectively measured time (by accelerometer) spent on physical activity at moderate (MPA) and vigorous intensity (VPA) in subgroups of age, gender, education and weight status. 236 adolescents (aged 12-18) and 301 adults (aged 22-40), completed the questionnaire and wore an accelerometer for two weeks. Large differences in time spent on MPA and VPA measured by questionnaire and accelerometer in adolescents were found. This finding raises serious questions about the use of questionnaires to quantify MPA and VPA in adolescents. There is a clear need in advanced valid assessments of PA in adolescents.