Holiday Madness!

Happy Holidays from Miss C and Mr. F! Now that the holidays are here and in full swing, everyone is in full “elf” mode; shopping, cooking, eating, dining etc. Sometimes physical activity and exercise takes a back seat and you say “oh I’ll just start up again after the holidays…” DON’T!! Start NOW! I know its cold out, but this is New England! Bundle up and go for a walk with the family, play in the backyard, go ice skating at the local rinks, and the roads are still dry enough for a bike ride or skateboard! Not an outdoor person? Go to your local recreation center and PLAY! Sign up for a team sport, take a fitness class (kids or adults!), try out swimming at the YMCA, anything to keep you moving and active for the holidays! Here are some healthy tips and info on holiday eating and planning: 1) Be realistic. Don’t try to lose pounds during the holidays, instead try to maintain your current weight. 2) Plan time for exercise. Exercise helps relieve holiday stress and prevent weight gain. A moderate and daily increase in exercise can help partially offset increased holiday eating. Try 10- or 15-minute brisk walks twice a day. 3) Don’t skip meals. Before leaving for a party, eat a light snack like raw vegetables or a piece of fruit to curb your appetite. You will be less tempted to over-indulge. 4) Survey party buffets before filling your plate. Choose your favorite foods and skip your least favorite. Include vegetables and fruits to keep your plate balanced. 5) Eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed. Savor your favorite holiday treats while eating small portions. Sit down, get comfortable, and enjoy. 6) If you overeat at one meal go light on the next. It takes 500 calories per day (or 3,500 calories per week) above your normal/maintenance consumption to gain one pound. It is impossible to gain weight from one piece of pie! 7) Take the focus off food. Turn candy and cookie making time into non-edible projects like making wreaths, dough art decorations or a gingerbread house. Plan group activities with family and friends that aren’t all about food. Try serving a holiday meal to the community, playing games or going on a walking tour of decorated homes. 8) Bring your own healthy dish to a holiday gathering. 9) Practice Healthy Holiday Cooking. Preparing favorite dishes lower in fat and calories will help promote healthy holiday eating. Incorporate some of these simple-cooking tips in traditional holiday recipes to make them healthier. 10) Look at your plate. If all you see is whites and browns, then most likely you picked up all the heavier, starchy foods. Make sure your plate looks color-balanced. Potatoes and turkey with some roasted carrots and green bean casserole is a better color balance than all the “white” stuff.

Kids less fit today!-Associated Press release!

Study: Kids Are Less Fit Than Their Parents Were Associated Press News Release By MARILYNN MARCHIONE DALLAS (AP) -- Today's kids can't keep up with their parents. An analysis of studies on millions of children around the world finds they don't run as fast or as far as their parents did when they were young. On average, it takes children 90 seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts did 30 years ago. Heart-related fitness has declined 5 percent per decade since 1975 for children ages 9 to 17. The American Heart Association, whose conference featured the research on Tuesday, says it's the first to show that children's fitness has declined worldwide over the last three decades. "It makes sense. We have kids that are less active than before," said Dr. Stephen Daniels, a University of Colorado pediatrician and spokesman for the heart association. Health experts recommend that children 6 and older get 60 minutes of moderately vigorous activity accumulated over a day. Only one-third of American kids do now. "Kids aren't getting enough opportunities to build up that activity over the course of the day," Daniels said. "Many schools, for economic reasons, don't have any physical education at all. Some rely on recess" to provide exercise. Sam Kass, a White House chef and head of first lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move program, stressed the role of schools in a speech to the conference on Monday. "We are currently facing the most sedentary generation of children in our history," Kass said. The new study was led by Grant Tomkinson, an exercise physiologist at the University of South Australia. Researchers analyzed 50 studies on running fitness -- a key measure of cardiovascular health and endurance -- involving 25 million children ages 9 to 17 in 28 countries from 1964 to 2010. The studies measured how far children could run in 5 to 15 minutes and how quickly they ran a certain distance, ranging from half a mile to two miles. Today's kids are about 15 percent less fit than their parents were, researchers concluded. "The changes are very similar for boys and girls and also for various ages," but differed by geographic region, Tomkinson said. The decline in fitness seems to be leveling off in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and perhaps in the last few years in North America. However, it continues to fall in China, and Japan never had much falloff -- fitness has remained fairly consistent there. About 20 million of the 25 million children in the studies were from Asia. Tomkinson and Daniels said obesity likely plays a role, since it makes it harder to run or do any aerobic exercise. Too much time watching television and playing video games and unsafe neighborhoods with not enough options for outdoor play also may play a role, they said. Other research discussed global declines in activity. Fitness is "pretty poor in adults and even worse in young people," especially in the United States and eastern Europe, said Dr. Ulf Ekelund of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, Norway. World Health Organization numbers suggest that 80 percent of young people globally may not be getting enough exercise.

More Awareness=Kid Safety in Sports!

Being more conscientious about examining kids and reporting is terrific in High School sports! For younger kids in youth sports, Parents must ask coaches about how they check or test for concussions in sports and what is done so that that youth oriented sports is fun but yet safe and doesn't leave a life long brain deficit.Also, the Katy Perry tribute to Children's Hospital on the left link is terrific and a spirit that exudes caring which is also exemplified at our Baker Innovation School for all of our children, come experience the Baker difference and visit anytime!

Fitness=Academic Success!

In the Cape Cod Times, an article appeared, link on left side of page, about the positive relationship of fitness and academic success. At Ezra Baker Innovation School, we have been studying this relationship between the Pacer Cardiovascular fitness Test and Academic performance as measured by the DRA test of reading for the past 3 years. To date our analysis is finding a match between fitness and academic performance for over 63% of the kids and in some classes over 70% relationship match! This practical study conducted within a public school does demonstrate that the "better than chance" results indicate that if kids are fit then they probably will do better academically in better than 63% of the time. We already know the health benefits of fitness but now this academic relationship makes it clearer for parents to support the schools in getting children to move for fitness for lifelong benefits. Many private schools do not have P.E or substitute walking for a P.E curriculum, which is not effective. Your public schools value the total child and offer your children the best opportunities for academic success by teaching to the total child, unlike most private schools. We appreciate the parents who support our school and believe in us to work with their child to develop their child to their maximum potential!

Love Football....but at what cost!

Bryant Gumbel, known sports reporter does a TV program called Real Sports and in it he covers many topics. The lastest that caught my eye, link to the left on this page, he talks about concussion and the effects of long term brain damage related to the game of Football. In his report he raises issues which I hate to hear because I love football. All of the recent rule changes in football to protect players irks me, but I understand the why's. The game has changed ....for the better! In his report, he indicates that recent surveys find that over 80% have heard of the link between concussions and brain damage. Polls have indicated that 33% of adults are less likely to have their children play youth tackle football, which has translated to a 13% drop in kids playing youth football. And fans of the game were polled and 14% said that they find football less enjoyable because of their awareness of what it's doing to the players. The poll looked at income and found that people who earned below $50,000 and who did not go to college heard less about the effects of concussion. The conclusion could be that the game of football is played by the poor...for the enjoyment of others! Remember at one point the sport of Boxing was one of the most popular sports until people realized what what happening to the athletes! In my opinion, recent rule changes in youth football to limit live tackling to only 1/3 of a weekly practice makes sense and safety along with proper tackling skills is essential in which kids learn to tackle with their shoulders and not lead with their heads! Coaches need to be closely scrutinized for their adherence to proper safety! Playing the game is fun but not if it means memory deficits which last a lifetime and thus effect a person's lifelong behavior, academic performance, social and personal relationships, occupational choices and lifetime income potential. Yes all of that to play the game of football!

BMI... Not Politically Correct

The Cape Cod Times is following the easy path of being politically correct! The use of BMI in schools has never been to intimidate kids, as a matter of fact, kids that are physically muscular are showing up with high BMI's! Are they being made fun of in schools, not in my school! BMI continues to be a valuable tool to look at fitness and academic success, but weight issues continues to be a sensitive issue for parents because of the emotions involved. But in reality, BMI has its role, it is telling parents to look deeper into their child's health. In this forum I have elaborated numerous times about the benefits of BMI. The State of Mass. required it based on health reasons and yet not one of the state's health experts can be found to add some merit as to why its important...why because parents complain and it becomes a political liability.! Too bad... but then even P.E. professionals don't understand it and are against it so what does that say! Geez! Mr. F.

Walking... again shows benefits if at a moderate pace!

Walking Works for everyone...but you need to walk at least 3 miles/hr pace, for cardiovascular benefits! Walking is great for social and quiet time and allows you to enjoy the beauty around you! Try and walk at least 30 minutes at that pace and then reap the benefits! See the link to the left!