Sunday, October 24, 2010

Young kids trust adults despite evidence to the contrary

USA Today

A Study: By Robert Preidt, HealthDay

Very young children are extraordinarily trusting of
what adults tell them, even if there is repeated
evidence to the contrary, finds a new study.

In what may be little surprise to many parents, Unive-
rsity of Virginia researchers found that 3-year-olds
placed more trust in information they are told than
information conveyed to them without words.

In this study, an adult showed children a red and a
yellow cup and then hid a sticker under the red cup.
Some children were told (incorrectly) that the sticker
was under the yellow cup, while other children saw
the adult place an arrow on the yellow cup without
saying anything. The children were told they could
look under one cup and keep the sticker if they
found it. The experiment was repeated eight times
with pairs of different colored cups.

The children who saw the adult place the arrow on
the incorrect cup quickly learned not to trust this
sign. But those who heard the adult say the sticker
was under a certain cup continued to believe that's
where they would find the sticker. Of those 16
children, nine never once found the sticker in eight
tries. (At the end of the game, all the children were
given stickers, whether they found them or not.)

The study appears in the journal Psychological
Science.

"Children have developed a specific bias to believe
what they're told. It's sort of a shortcut to keep them
from having to evaluate what people say. It's useful
because most of the time parents and caregivers tell
children things that they believe to be true," study
author Vikram K. Jaswal said in a journal news
release.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Let's talk about kids health

Last year was the first year of BMI testing done for the 1st grade at the Baker School and at all DY schools.

The results give us a snap shot of the health status of our children at one point in time last year. I personally feel that the testing gives us valuable data in which we should commence discussions about our communities health, our attitudes and what if anything can we do to affect change if we beleive change needs to occur.

Please email this site with your thoughts in an effort to open up some dialog about this important discussion.

Within MA the rate of overweight and obese children is approx. 30% to 33%!

Chocolate Milk Debate Rages On

Can chocolate milk really be healthy? An ad campaign promoting flavored milk in school lunch programs has some parents mooing in discontent.

Read the attached link and perhaps it isn't as bad as we think!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

30% of overweight Americans think they're in normal range

See link to get full article. Recognizing obesity seems to be an important first step!

"Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of obesity surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, noted that "when (Dr. Everett Coop, surgeon general in the 1980s) wrote 'Shape Up America,' he said the biggest health problem facing America was not AIDS, not cancer, it's obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Since then ... we've seen nothing but a rise in obesity despite all of these efforts that have gone on now since the 1980s."

"The American public knows this but it's hard and it's something that they're not quite ready to do," Corso added. "This wake-up call still isn't ringing as loudly as it could."

Friday, September 10, 2010

Over one-third of MA students overweight/obese

WBZ News
9/8/2010
6:05 pm


State public health officials say that more than one-third of the students in 80 Massachusetts school districts are overweight or obese.


The Massachusetts Department of Public Health released a study Wednesday of more than 100,000 students which found that 17.3 percent were obese and 16.9 percent were overweight.

The percentage of students overweight or obese ranged from a low of 9.6 percent in Arlington to a high of 46.6 percent in Lawrence.

The study measured students in the first, fourth, seventh and 10th grades. In all four grade levels measured, more boys were overweight or obese than girls.

The study was part of the state’s Mass in Motion initiative which tries to promote wellness and prevent obesity in Massachusetts.

Monday, August 30, 2010

ER visits for concussions soar among kid athletes

Concussion-Care Guidelines .By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner, Ap Medical Writer – Mon Aug 30, 3:31 am ET
CHICAGO – Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids' sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries.

The findings in a study of national data don't necessarily mean that concussions are on the rise. However, many children aren't taken for medical treatment, so the numbers are likely only a snapshot of a much bigger problem, doctors say.

"It definitely is a disturbing trend," said lead author Dr. Lisa Bakhos, an ER physician in Neptune, N.J.

The study examined concussions in organized youth sports involving ages 8 to 19. ER visits for 14- to 19-year-olds more than tripled, from about 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 22,000 in 2007. Among ages 8 to 13, visits doubled, from 3,800 to almost 8,000.

While awareness has increased, many parents, coaches and players still don't understand how serious concussions can be, Bakhos said. Many often seem less concerned with the injury than with how soon kids can return to sports.

"They want to know if they can play tomorrow, and you're just like, 'No!'" she said. "It's not just as simple as get up, shake it off and you'll be fine.

"If they're not treated properly, with rest, then they can have long-term problems," Bakhos said. Those include learning difficulties, memory problems and chronic headaches.

The study appears in Pediatrics, published online Monday, along with a report about sports-related concussions from the American Academy of Pediatrics' sports medicine council.

A concussion means the brain has been jostled. Symptoms aren't always obvious. There usually is no loss of consciousness. And a concussion doesn't show up on an imaging scan unless there is bruising or bleeding.

Symptoms can include headache, nausea, dizziness and trouble concentrating, and may last about a week. Sometimes it can take months to recover.

Potential concussions should not be "toughed out," say the authors of the Pediatrics report. Affected athletes should always be examined by a doctor or someone else with medical expertise.

Treatment is mainly rest — both physically and mentally, avoiding activities that require concentration and focus. That may mean reducing schoolwork or staying home. Video games, computer use and TV can worsen symptoms and should be avoided, the academy report says. Some doctors advise against aspirin and similar painkillers right after a head injury because they might raise the risk for brain bleeding.

Above all, anyone with a concussion should not return to sports or other physical exertion until their symptoms have disappeared.

"If you go back in too early, that can be devastating," said Dr. Kevin Walter, co-author of the report and a concussions specialist at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Resuming sports too soon risks another concussion that could be deadly or cause permanent brain damage, he said.

A concussion should not be dismissed as "not a big deal," Walter said. "In my mind, how the hell can a brain injury not be big deal?" he said.

Sports-related concussions have made recent headlines because of research about brain damage, depression and memory problems including Alzheimer's disease in retired NFL players who had repeat concussions.

Researchers believe young athletes may be more vulnerable than adults to lasting damage from these head injuries because their brains are still developing. Several states have adopted or are considering tougher limits on when athletes can resume play after a concussion, as have some schools, amateur leagues and the NFL.

Dr. Michael Koester, chairman of a sports medicine committee at the National Federation of State High School Associations, said young athletes increasingly are playing and practicing year-round to stay competitive, a trend that increases chances for injury.

Evan Nolte, 16, a top high school basketball player in Atlanta, says the injuries "are more serious than people think."

Evan hit his head hard on the floor during a tournament earlier this year when he dived for a ball and another player landed on top of him. He didn't think he had a concussion, and only sat out several minutes before returning to the game.

A few days later, he was elbowed in the head in another game. Evan sat out the rest of the game, feeling disoriented. His doctor diagnosed a concussion the next day and told him to avoid sports for a few weeks. When Evan had trouble focusing in class, and complained that his head was spinning, his parents took him to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's concussion clinic.

The clinic is among an increasing number of centers nationwide that use computerized or written tests to measure mental function after concussions. Evan's results showed some deficits. His scores improved after several days, but it took him about a month to feel 100 percent.

Now he's back to training. At 6-feet-7, Evan plays competitively 10 months of the year and plans to play in college. Coaches from top schools have already shown interest.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Embrace Your Inner Child to Get in Shape- From Spark

This is a fun way to be active. At Baker many of the games focus the concepts mentioned here to keep "our" kids healthy in a fun way! It WORKS!!


8 Recess-Inspired Activities that are More than Kid's Play
-- By Jennipher Walters, Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor
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Ever notice how you can’t spell "workout" without the word "work?" Most of us view work as something we have to do, not necessarily something that we want to do. It's the opposite of leisure and the killer of fun. We all know that we should exercise, but wouldn't being active be more fun if it was less like work and more like the recess you remember as a kid where you were dying to get outside to run around and play? When kids exercise, it’s called play! When adults exercise, it’s called working out. But what if you could recapture the fun and fitness benefits of play as an adult?

Workouts that mimic the games and activities of your childhood are a hot new trend in fitness. The nostalgic exercises are becoming popular because they feel more like fun than traditional fitness and take participants back to a carefree time when they didn't have to worry about bills, what to make for dinner, or acing that presentation at work. It's like being a kid again! Except this go around, you know that while you're having fun, you're also burning a bunch of calories, building muscles and strengthening your heart. Everyone wins!

If you’d like to add a little more fun to your fitness pursuits, these eight exercise ideas will turn your boring workout into a fun-filled recess activity. If you're looking for a full workout, you can put them all together for an extra good time! Or, if in a pinch, you can always do one or two of the exercises on their own for a quick -me-up any time, day or night. And as you can imagine, these are also perfect exercises to do with the entire family or a few friends in a team-like setting. So go ahead and blow that whistle—it's recess time!

1. Hula Hoop. More than child’s play, hula hooping is also an effective core workout that’s making a big comeback among adults. All that hip swiveling and rotating works all the muscles in your abs, including your transverse abdominals, which really help to tighten that tummy. And if you are good enough at hula hooping to do it for minutes at a time, you can burn about 200 calories for every 30 minutes spent hooping.

Try-It Tip: Try hooping during the commercials of your favorite TV show to increase your core strength. Adult sized and specially designed hula hoops (and fitness DVDs) are becoming more readily available these days, too.

2. Obstacle Course. Remember the obstacle courses that you used to do in elementary school? You'd break into a few teams and see who could run around the playground, dive under the big tires, skip around the big tree and go across the monkey bars the fastest? Well, why not fire up your competitive playful instincts again? Obstacle courses that feature a variety of activities can be great cross training and a fantastic functional workout because you're moving your body in so many natural ways. If you go all out through the course numerous times with small breaks between turns, you can even count it as interval training, which burns almost 10 calories a minute!

Try-It Tip: Hit your local elementary school's playground during off hours and challenge a friend to a circuit of monkey bars, climbing over the big tires and jogging or speed walking a lap or two around the blacktop.

3. Swing. Who didn't love swinging as a kid? Turns out flying high into the sky was great lower-intensity cardio that strengthened our cores and legs. The pumping motion of the legs strengthens both your quads and hamstrings and the balancing aspect of the swinging targets the core. It takes about an hour to burn 200 calories swinging, so it's not a fantastic calorie burner, but it's definitely good for the body and childlike spirit.

Try-It Tip: Hit the swings the next time you're at the park. Parks near middle schools and junior highs are likely to have swings designed for taller kids with longer legs. And if you can't find a swing to fit you, remember that pushing a child on the swing is good cardio that strengthens your upper body, too!

4. Jump Rope. There's no doubt that you can get a good workout with just a simple jump rope. Heck, unless you’re a professional boxer, just a few minutes of jumping rope is enough to get you sweating. In fact, this childhood "toy" equates to an almost 350-calorie burn per 30-minute jumping session. You can even throw in old school tricks to jazz it up, like jumping backwards, "double unders" (turning the rope twice for each jump) or crossing your rope while you jump.

Try-It Tip: Try SparkPeople’s 10-minute jump rope routine to test your jumping endurance! If jumping rope for just a minute or two is all you can muster, grab some pals and try double-dutch again. You won't burn as many calories as you take turns, but you probably will make up for that somewhat with all the laughing!

5. Dodgeball. Dodgeball is back—in a big way. Adult dodgeball leagues are popping up in workplaces and health clubs across the country, because this childhood game is a dynamic, interval-type activity that requires running, ducking, jumping, throwing and catching. Talk about functional and competitive! If you loved dodgeball in school, you're guaranteed to love it just as much now, especially because you can burn about 340 calories an hour by going after your friends (all in good fun, of course).

Try-It Tip: Find a local National Amateur Dodgeball Association member in your area and start playing! Or start up your own league with co-workers, friends and family members.

6. Simon Says. You remember how Simon Says works, right? If "Simon Says" then you can do something. If not, you can't—or aren't supposed to. This game is a perfect way to focus your mind on something other than working out because you're so focused on what Simon is saying. Organize a game of Simon Says where you stand on one leg, do lunges, jumping jacks, high knees, push-ups and any other fun exercise. If Simon picks a lot of high-energy moves, a 30-minute session of Simon Says can easily burn 300 calories.

Try-It Tip: Get a few friends together and take turns being "Simon." The sillier that Simon can be with his/her instructions, the more fun you’ll all have! You can even have those who do something that Simon didn't say do extra laps or push-ups!

7. Red Light, Green Light. This commonly played game is a fun way to get you moving. Gather a workout buddy or two and designate one person as "the light." Then have that person tell you "green light" to fast walk and "red light" to slow your pace down. Voila! It's a fun interval workout that can burn up to 300 calories an hour!

Try-It Tip: If you're a runner, you can still play Red Light, Green Light! Just make the Red Light be slow jogging, and the Green Light fast running or sprinting. You'll up your calorie burn to about a 100 per mile you cover!

8. Tag. If you remember playing tag as a kid, you probably remember being exhausted after a good game, especially if you were "It." Tag is basically an interval workout with lots of sprinting, running and recovery. The only equipment you need is some friends (or kids!) and a big backyard. If you keep moving the whole game, 20 minutes can easily burn 150 calories or more.

Try-It Tip: Be sure that you all take turns being "It." As an adult, being "It" is a good thing as you get the most activity and the best workout!

Reliving some of the most fun and carefree parts of your childhood can be good for your body and your mind. Hopefully these ideas spark some creative ways for you to take the work out of your workouts and turn your fitness pursuits into fun-filled play sessions!