Phys Ed: Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter? - NYTimes.com

First off let me get this off my chest.... Like NO DUH! Us "Phys-Ed" folks have been saying this for years. Well at least those who believed in the value of physical activity in the development of the whole person, in this case the child, but we can make the leap to include adults as well.

I'm encouraged when I read articles such as this that shares some of the current research findings on activity and it's relationship to our mental and emotional well-being.

I don't teach Physical Education in schools now (in "retirement" I will - it's my L-T plan). I work in the area of Corporate Health Promotion - I teach P.E. within a corporation, P.E. for adults. But I'm a Mom. I'm an adult within a community who cares about the health and well-being of our communities children. I care that they (schools/community) 1. That the schools have the necessary resources to assist teachers in delivering high-quality education. 2. Provide healthy options for solid nutrition - breakfast, snacks & lunches. 3. That the community have a variety of outlets for children & teens, playgrounds, youth theater, arts programs, music, as well as sports.

Traditional P.E. taught sport. All fine and good, but teaching ONLY sport excluded so many. Today P.E. not only includes sport training but lifetime activities such as running, weight training, yoga, challenge adventures, camping & hiking, etc.. Many school districts are doing this now, those that still have funding to support it within their schools.

Physical Activity is not only great for the body it's also great for the mind & emotions. We as adults know that. We should encourage our schools to not only teach the 3 R's, but learn how to integrate moderate and vigorous movement into the school day, through P.E. or within the classroom setting.

Maybe if we encourage more Physical Activity we may see less behavioral problems, less obesity-related health problems, more academic achievement. Need convincing...Take a moment and read this excellent article.

Our future is in the hands of our children. Let's keep them healthy.

Phys Ed: Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter? - NYTimes.com

Long life goes hand in hand with a firm grip - Health - msnbc.com

I made it to the Quarter Century Club & the Half Century Club and I'm still thinking that the Century Club is a worthwhile goal. I know that getting from this point to that point will be a challenge. I need to not only mentally & spiritually be up to it, but physically as well.

Checking in now at the age of 53 I have already lost family and friends younger than me. The odds of going the distance get slimmer with each passing moment. Yet, I'm willing to give it my best shot.

One thing that I know many articles don't speak of is creating a lasting community when your peers are dropping all around you. A good friend told me recently as I shared my concern. She responded without missing a beat, "Then you'll have to make younger friends!"

I really liked that thought, completely changed my view on aging. In that vain, I post for you, an article that focuses on the physical attributes that are related to longetivity. No surprise, but something to truly consider...Keep on truckin' folks!

Long life goes hand in hand with a firm grip - Health - msnbc.com

Success is in the journey NOT the Pill!

I see Trends. I have this tendency to see common threads in un-related issues.  For instance, I see how our narrowed-minded, short-term profit fix is reflected in our desire to "cure" long-term systemic problems with the quick profiteering fix of drugs.

In the U.S. especially, our own greed and blindness to long-term financial stability and innovation is blocked and destroyed by our own fears of competition.  Large corporations destroy the future by gobbling up and destroying anything that threatens current profits.  Thus squelching any potential long-term market growth. Innovation, the very thing that made the USA great is wiped off the future map.  Now we are paying the high price.

I see the same kind of trends for the "cure" of the modern day killer of health, Obesity.  Heaven forbid that we  fix our inadequate food supply, promote more physical movement in the our daily lives, learn how to deal effectively with stress and discover how true joy is found in each simple moment.

No instead we promote and people buy drugs to fix themselves mentally & physically. And if one drug doesn't work, here, add another to the mix.

Once again diet drugs are looking to be approved to cure obesity...LOOK at the risks compared to the modest gains (or losses).

A health lifestyle costs us virtually nothing.  But it does take conscious consistent effort.  It's in that very journey, that very journey that the true cure exists.  Why must we be so short-sighted with the quick-fix solutions?  Why must we be so afraid of the journey.  Is it really too much work to be happy & healthy without drugs?

Risks of old, new diet drugs face U.S. scrutiny

By Lisa Richwine and Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The risks of a potential new diet pill and a 13-year-old weight-loss medicine face U.S. scrutiny next week as medical experts consider if the drugs' benefits outweigh possible side effects.

On Thursday, Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc (ARNA.O) goes before an advisory panel that will consider if the pill, lorcaserin or Lorqess, should win approval. The medicine is vital to Arena, a small company with no approved drugs on the market.

On Wednesday, the committee will decide whether to recommend tougher action against Abbott Laboratories Inc's (ABT.N) diet drug Meridia on concerns about heart problems.

READ the WHOLE Article... And you tell me if you see what I see..

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0921319620100910

Clean Sheets, Goose Eggs & Shut Outs

I'm a believer in what sports has to offer children & adults. I'm a believer in sports if we allow sports to do the teaching and for us parents to learn our own lessons by simply supporting our children and not fighting their battles for them. I believe that we learn most from our failures than our successes. I believe in letting children fail so they know the value of working harder for a goal they believe in.

That of course is easier said then done. I learned a lot of lessons as an athlete when I was younger. Those lessons hold true today. I'm still learning lessons as a parent of an athlete.

My son, now a sophomore in college, is a very different athlete than I was. I was a natural, could do anything and do it well. I worked hard at it, but I didn't train like my son. I played many sports. He has chosen soccer as his passion. He's a soccer goalie, a Keeper. He's 5'6"/5'7". He's fearless, he's quick, he's stronger than his 140# athletic frame shows, and he can leap.

But no one, outside of a few HS coaches and his teammates, believed he could dominate this position. He has. But the battle, just like his battle over a learning disability, is not one he can coast along with. He's got to prove himself every moment.

The longer he played, the higher the competition, the higher the risks. Failure is not an option to my son. Failure to him was giving up on his goal of playing Keeper for a team he leads to the nationals and playing in the field. He could play the field, his skills are that good. But his passion is Keeper.

As the leading sophomore he looked to earn his starting position, but the freshman got the nod. AAARGGHH! I pouted more than he.

He got his chance to play. And this is what he did.

Clean Sheets: Share this profile

A Simple Chore. A Life Lesson. - Sherrill A Quinn's MySpace Blog | sAq's BLOG...

Finding the joy and the little Miracles in everyday life can do so much for our Mental and Spiritual Well-being. It's these simple moments that add pleasure. Can we stay aware enough to even notice?

A Simple Chore. A Life Lesson. - Sherrill A Quinn's MySpace Blog | sAq's BLOG...

Energize Your Workouts with Social Support

Now, I LOVE exercise. I KNOW the value of physical activity in my life. I live and breathe this stuff. I have learned and seen first hand the value of regular physical exertion has on your mind, body and spirit. Not as crazy as years past, my intentions and goals are unique to my life right now.

A lifetime athlete (since the age of 8) I'm finding enjoyment in recreational sports these days more than sheer competition. I compete with that little (and I have to admit sometimes quite loud) still small voice inside that says, "Hmm, maybe later." I have come to rely very heavily on others support and encouragement in recent months.

Now I work in the field and preach it everyday and I am often the motivator for many folks. But this motivator needs a motivator once in ahile too. Or maybe I just want to enjoy this "fitness stuff" with the people I love in my life. Maybe this is just another thing that we can share together. Either way the bottom-line is Do Whatever it takes to be and stay active, even if it means recruiting old and new friends!

Here's a great supportive article to that end.

Energize Your Workouts with Social Support American Council on Exercise (ACE)

We Were Last! www.myspace.com/sherrillaquinn/blog

Few medicines as strong as exercise | exercise, medicine, muscle - Life - The Orange County Register

More and more research and information is pointing directly to Exercise as truly being "medicine". Not only is it necessary to avoid chronic illnesses such as heart disease & stroke, but mental health & well-being (as well as learning) are intrinsically linked to movement and exercise. We Physical Education folks and Fitness Professionals have "known" this for years via personal testimony and a pleathora of anctedotal stories.
Finally actual well-designed research is being published that document the changes at a bio-chemical & hormonal level. Exercise is so much more than neuro-muscular improvements. I would consider those changes healthy "side-effects" compared to the positive mental & emotional changes.

sAq

Few medicines as strong as exercise exercise, medicine, muscle - Life - The Orange County Register

Concerns as obesity surgery soars

On one hand I am glad the issue has finally come to light, come into and onto the publics consciousness.  On the other I'm deeply concerned about the issue.  It's NOT just the financial cost to society, and we all realize finally just how much, it's the cost to our own humanity.

The answer is NOT to beat down the individuals who are obese, but to encourage them to find the reason to battle the excesses and find the very personal reason to change.

That's for an educated and intelligent person.  BUT the obesity our nation deals with is also one of poverty. Our nations poor are under-educated and are subject to poor food choices being marketed and sold in their neighborhoods, schools, food pantries etc.

Recognizing the problem is only the first step to change.  In some neighborhoods it actually take strong community action to rid the area of "food garbage".

It's just my opinion.
Concerns as obesity surgery soars