Phelps Promotes Kids Fitness

Golden boy Michael Phelps just returned to U.S. soil yesterday and his next mission doesn’t involve winning medals; rather the muscular swimming sensation says he wants to save your child from obesity. Phleps flew back to the United States Wednesday and he is wasting no time promoting children’s fitness. This morning he got back into the water for the first time since becoming the winningest Olympic athlete in history. But, the part man-part fish specimen didn’t do so to get in his daily swim; rather the 23-year-old was trying to encourage young kids to embrace the sport of swimming the … Continue reading →

New Exercise Program for Kids

My daughter was a chunk of a baby. (See for yourself.) But she has since shed her baby fat and grown into a perfectly sized preschooler, who can outrun all the girls and all but one boy on her soccer team. When I watch her sprint after the ball I often reminisce about her former Michelin Man legs. Man, was she chubby (though, very healthy, according to her doctor). I’m not afraid to speak about my child’s hefty beginnings, but perhaps I should since these days the tide seems to be turning against baby fat. In a recent article published … Continue reading →

Is Your Child Getting Enough Exercise?

According to a recent study, the percentage of overweight children in the United States has doubled in the last 30 years. And while many factors have contributed to this epidemic, most health experts agree that kids are simply not moving as much as their parents did when they were young. The bottom line: We are a nation of sedentary individuals and our children are the youngest victims. In a recent report the American Academy of Pediatrics noted that the average child watches roughly 3 hours of television a day. What’s more, those same kids spend an additional 2.5 hours sitting … Continue reading →

The Pen is Mightier than the Scale?

Is journaling the secret to meeting your weight loss and fitness goals? I read an article through an online news site where one student talked about the success she had after taking a basic English course where she was required to journal her daily activities including what she ate and drank. She said it was amazing to recognize what she was and wasn’t eating right and where she needed to make corrections. People Don’t Want to Know I’ve kept a journal of what I eat, drink and the amount of activity I’ve performed. It’s pretty tough to do because if … Continue reading →

Family Fitness: Stress and How it Affects the Family

How many arguments do parents have when one or the other arrives late from work? How many times have you heard a partner say, ‘I thought this was the one place I could catch a break!’ The myth of family is that the home should be a bastion of peace and tranquility. The stresses of life should not walk in the front door and sit down to share the supper table with the wife, kids, parents and in-laws. Family Stress Family stress is very much like normal stress in that the stress itself is inevitable. Families, after all, are comprised … Continue reading →

Fitness Goes to the Dogs

Do you remember the scene in One Hundred and One Dalmatians when Pongo comments on how dogs and their owners often look the same? It’s a mildly humorous statement, yet it can be accurate. Your dog may be a very accurate reflection of your personal health. If your dog is overweight, chances are he or she isn’t getting enough exercise. Does that suggest that maybe you aren’t getting enough exercise too? The average pet owner that walks their dogs regularly is going to cover more ground than those who just hit the gym to work out. Studies suggest that dog … Continue reading →

Family Fitness: Build on What You Know

I couldn’t be more proud of my daughter this year as she’s dived into the world of books with such bursting enthusiasm. She’s literally devouring the books faster than we can get them. Each book is a portal to another time, another place, and whether it’s an adventure or history or compassion, she’s learning a little bit more from each book. So it disturbed me when my husband commented that her reading was great, but he didn’t want her to get fat just sitting around and reading books. Active Kids This is an attitude that a parent shouldn’t have about … Continue reading →

Kid Fitness – How Does a Garden Grow?

I love gardening. I talk about it here as a great way to get exercise whether you’re pulling weeds, mowing the lawn or planting new flowers. It’s a fitness choice that you can perform several times a week (though I wouldn’t recommend mowing several times a week unless you have multiple lawns to mow – your yard just wouldn’t like you). For kids, gardening can be a multitude of things – including a great way for them to get exercise. Outdoors and Out of the Box Getting your kids involved in gardening lets them get outside, learn about gardening, flowers, … Continue reading →

Stretching Helps Avoid Preeclampsia

A new study funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research found that stretching may actually be better for women who were physically inactive before their pregnancy in avoiding preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is hypertension induced by pregnancy and it’s one of the leading causes of fetal and maternal illness in the world. If left untreated, the condition can lead to death. Pre-Natal Fitness Walking is often promoted as the best form of exercise to protect a pregnant woman from developing preeclampsia. But the study details that women who were not active beforehand and experienced preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy would be … Continue reading →

Birthday Cake – Get Out

First it was fast foods and the short line, then it was soda and now it’s birthday cake. School districts are going to start banning anything that doesn’t fall into the ‘healthy’ part of the food pyramid, I just see it coming. What’s started this? An Illinois school district just approved a new health plan. This health plan would ban students (and by extension their parents) from bringing cakes or cupcakes to the classroom in order to celebrate their birthdays. Pause for a moment to consider that. Yeah, okay. The reason they announced this plan is that they want kids … Continue reading →