Empowering Healthy Kids Blog

I stumbled across the US Department of Health and Human Services 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. In particular, see Chapter 3: Active Children and Adolescents.

Key message: Aim for moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity for periods of time that add up to 60 minutes or more each day.

The American Council on Exercise has released their

Top 10 Exercising and Fitness Trends for 2009:

1. Boot Camp-Style Workouts: Boot camp workouts remain extremely popular because they provide a total-body workout that’s varied, fun and challenging. Up to 600 calories can be burned during a boot camp session, which is obviously going to facilitate weight loss. But in addition to a great cardiovascular workout, muscles are strengthened through high- and low-intensity exercises such as pushups, squats and lunges. You don’t typically experience significant muscle fitness benefits in other aerobic exercises.
2. Budget-Friendly Workouts: With today’s economy showing no signs of strengthening, more people will cut costs to stay in shape. Of the ACE-certified professionals surveyed, 48 percent said that gym memberships will decrease in 2009 and 52 percent said less people will hire personal trainers. Look for more people to use the resources around them as their gym and equipment.
3. Specialty Classes: While yoga and Pilates will remain strong, dance-based classes are all the rage this year! Zumba, a fitness program inspired by Latin dance, combines South American rhythms with cardiovascular exercise. Bollywood, ballroom, Afro-Cuban and other exotic dance styles are growing in popularity thanks to shows such as Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.
4. Getting Back to Basics: Despite the fact that many exercises and equipment are becoming more advanced and trendy, trainers will continue to focus on basic movements and techniques with their clients again.
5. Circuit Training: Studies have shown that interval training combining strength training and cardiovascular activity at different intensities provides a more time-efficient workout than participating in traditional aerobic and weight training sessions. With an increase in popularity of circuit training, many gyms are even setting up their own circuits to allow their members an easy path to fitness.
6. Kettlebells: The reason for the surge in kettlebell training is that it gets back to basic training that requires functional, whole body fitness. Kettlebells require an individual to focus on whole-body conditioning because lifting and controlling a kettlebell forces the entire body, particularly the core, to contract as a group, simultaneously developing strength and stability. Kettlebell workouts engage multiple muscle groups, making it a great way to get a whole body workout in a relatively short period of time.
7. Boomer Fitness: Individuals age 50+ have the means, motivation and desire to enhance their quality of life through physical activity—and they are only growing. The 50+ audience continues to redefine our expectations about age, vitality and life, and has highlighted the importance of physical activity as we age. Since September 2007, AARP’s fitness initiative for boomers—aimed at providing a wide range of affordable fitness services to its 39 million members—has been going strong.
8. Technology-Based Fitness: From iPods to Cardio Cinema to exergaming (i.e., Wii Fit, Expresso Bikes) the latest in technology will continue to infuse itself in all aspects of fitness. Look for 2009 to provide more interactive video games that provide fitness benefits, as well as new inventions to make exercising a more engaging experience.
9. Event or Sport-Specific Exercises: Despite the emergence of new and trendy workouts, sports or recreational activities will remain a popular way to stay in shape. Participating in a friendly game of basketball or volleyball, training for a marathon, or taking a day-long bike ride are just a few ways that people are staying in shape and having fun doing so!
10. Mixing It Up: Traditional programming is changing from what we called linear progression to undulating as research shows similar if not better results. For example, mixing low-intensity cardio with intervals on different days, and mixing high-volume, low- intensity weight training with low-volume, high-intensity training on alternate days.

The ones in bold are ones that I think relate well to children’s fitness. At MyPed we are currently developing a mash between exergaming and edutainment as a way to educate and motivate kids to be fit and healthy.
One trend I, not mentioned here, that will occur is the shift towards the family unit getting involved in fitness - brought about the increased awareness, new advances in technology (eg. Wii Fit can be used by the whole family) and it’s a relatively cheap activity for the family.

A summary of ideas for parents to get their kids active from Robert Gotlin, D.O. Sports Medicine Specialist, Beth Israel Medical Center:

• Parents who believe their children may not be safe by themselves should join in the activities and be a role model for the children.
• Take a walk together in a local park, play catch or Frisbee® or watch as the child plays on the jungle gym or playground equipment.
• You don’t necessarily need to go to a gym to lift weights. Gotlin recommends using something as simple as cans of vegetables for weight training.
• Most importantly, have fun.
• Avoid serious competition that can lead to disappointment and failure.
• Children who see their parents having fun exercising will also enjoy the activity and are more likely to continue the exercise habit as they grow older.

Kate Carnell, the chief executive of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, outlines her defence of the Australian food and beverage industry:

The recent release of the CSIRO’s Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, which studied the habits of more than 4000 children, found the number of overweight and obese children in Australia has only increased marginally since the last major survey in 1995.

The study found Australia does not have a childhood obesity epidemic, but it does have too many overweight (17 per cent) and obese (6 per cent) children, while many more have significant problems with their diets.

It is not that Australian children are eating too much food - they are not eating the right food.

The survey revealed that while childhood obesity rates seem to have plateaued over the last decade, very few children are now eating to established dietary guidelines. The result: many are at risk of nutrient deficiencies and other diet-related issues. The survey showed the levels of saturated fats, sugar and salt being consumed were too high, while intake levels of micronutrients, including calcium and magnesium, were too low.

For too long the food and beverage industry has been labelled by some as being the sole cause of childhood obesity by providing too many high salt, high fat and high energy food products. This could not be further from the truth.

Read on.

My take is simply based on the fact that parents make the choices on what their children eat. If there were no demand for these types of food and drink, companies would simply stop producing them. I know that many are concerned that the marketing barrage of “junk food” ads makes parenting harder. However, in a free society, we are free to choose how we live our lives and how we choose to raise our children. If we blind our children to advertising and not teach them the skills of self-discipline and leading a healthy life, what happens when they grow older and are suddenly exposed to these “evils?” They simply will not have the aptitutude to make informed and rational choices for themselves.

We have been hard at work on our Zippeddy activity system for kids. We have developed our initial version of our website at www.zippeddy.com.

Currently, we are accepting invitations from schools as part of our limited-Beta trial program. If you would like to participate please contact us.

Growing evidence shows that not only does a healthy body lead to a healthy mind, but a smart one too:

The California Department of Education (CDE) looked for a correlation between fitness scores and test scores. They found that kids who were deemed fit (by a standard test of aerobic capacity, BMI, abdominal strength, trunk strength, upper body strength and overall flexibility) scored twice as well on academic tests as those that were unfit.  In the second year of the study, socio-economic status was taken into account, to possibly eliminate that variable as an explanation. As expected, those in the upper-income brackets scored better overall on the academic tests, but within the lower-income set of students, the same results were observed — kids who were more fit performed better academically.

Also from the article, a quote fromJohn Ratey, a Harvard clinical associate professor of psychiatry:

In his latest book, “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” (2008, Little, Brown), John Ratey, a Harvard clinical associate professor of psychiatry, argues for more physical fitness for students as a cure for not only their obesity but also their academic performance.

“I cannot underestimate how important regular exercise is in improving the function and performance of the brain.” Ratey writes. “Exercise stimulates our gray matter to produce Miracle-Gro for the brain.” That “Miracle-Gro” is a brain chemical called brain-derived neurotropic factor, or BDNF. When we exercise, our working muscles send chemicals into our bloodstream, including a protein known as IGF-1.

Once in the brain, IGF-1 orders the production of more BDNF. The additional BDNF helps new neurons and their connections grow. In addition, levels of other neurotransmitters are increased after a strenuous exercise session.

“Dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine — all of these are elevated after exercise,” says Ratey. “So having a workout will help focus, calming down, and impulsivity — it’s like taking a little bit of Prozac and a little bit of Ritalin.”