Tag Archives: physical activity

Lose Weight to Ease Back Pain

Have you been experiencing back pain lately? If so, there could be a number of reasons why to include excessive weight. Everyone, even people without back pain should learn everything possible about preventing back injury. After all, the cost and involvement of fixing a bad back is not the way to go. For starters, I suggest you check your posture. Although most of us were taught about good posture in school or at home, we still slouch. Learning how to stand, sit, and lift properly will make a huge difference. Additionally, you can talk to your doctor or physical trainer … Continue reading →

Walk to School Day

Today is International Walk to School Day and my daughter’s school is celebrating it along with many other schools across the nation. I had to laugh when she came home from school yesterday wearing a sticker telling us she needed to walk to school today because it was important. 4 days out of 5, we walk anyway. So it’s amusing to hear the kids tell me how important it is to walk to school today. Increasing Our Activity Levels Walking to school is healthy for kids, provided they are not walking alone. Unfortunately, in this day and age – safe … Continue reading →

October is Walk to School Month

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.-Winston Churchill October 4th is International Walk to School Day. This year, however, communities can choose to celebrate Walk to School for a day, a week or a month. This decision was made by the International Walk to School Committee that has several countries participating and working together to inspire interest in this event. Many U.S. communities and school districts are encouraging kids to walk to school on October 4th. The idea is to promote walking and bicycling in order to change communities and the … Continue reading →

New Ways Hospitals Are Helping Overweight Patients

Did you know that 64% of Americans are overweight or obese? Sixty-four percent—that’s more than half of the country’s entire population. Knowing that, it should come as no surprise that hospitals and doctor’s offices are being forced to change the way they operate. If they didn’t, obese patients would simply not get proper health care. I will admit I really hadn’t given the subject much thought, until my firefighter/EMT brother told me about a new bariatric ambulance he has been training on. The ambulance is equipped with a wider stretcher and an additional seatbelt. In addition, it also has a … Continue reading →

The United Fat States of America?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimate that the United States spent more than seventy-five billion dollars in health care relating to obesity. An incredibly large portion of the American population can be considered overweight — having a body mass index of twenty five or more. Some of the worst offenders are in the south: Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Experts believe that a lack of access to healthy food is a huge contributing factor in obesity. The inability to obtain healthy, safe food on a regular basis is a common factor in many of the states showing up on … Continue reading →

Parents Can Monitor School Lunch Choices

Have you ever wondered what your child was eating for school lunch? Have you ever been concerned about the possible food choices your child might be making? Or wished that you could prevent your child from purchasing certain types of foods? Well now thanks to Data Futures, a Kentucky based software program you can. Over 3,200 schools across the country are using the LunchBox program, which allows parents to track what their child is eating. When a student buys a lunch they must enter a four-digit code into a keypad at the register. Each item has a different code. Parents … Continue reading →

A Vaccine Against Obesity?

Back in 1999, researchers discovered a hormone called ghrelin that helps control appetite in animals and people. Now researchers are saying that a vaccine that slows down ghrelin has successfully kept lab rats from gaining weight… even when they over-ate. The study on vaccination against ghrelin in rats was performed by the Scripps Research Institute in California. The vaccine enables the immune system to recognize something it doesn’t ordinarily recognize — the hormone ghrelin. When the immune system doesn’t allow ghrelin to reach the brain, the rats in the trial that ate normally ended up losing weight. Although the vaccine … Continue reading →

New Federal Law to Help Kids Get Fit

A national law that began on July 1, 2006 mandates that all schools have a health and wellness plan in place in order to help the students live healthier lives. Specifically, the bill is trying to fight against childhood obesity, and lower sugar intake in elementary and secondary age students. Food and eating habits are learned early in life, and the government rightfully understands that the earlier they can teach children to make good eating choices, they better the possibility that they will then turn in to long term positive eating habits. When I was in high school, my lunch … Continue reading →

Honey We’re Killing the Kids

No, not really – it’s just that’s the name of a reality television show on the Learning Channel. The show, while still falling into the shuddering category of reality television does offer a unique challenge in perspective as well as nutritional advice for families. Primarily, the show confronts the poor eating and health habits of families where the average family is giving their children about 40 teaspoons of sugar a day when they should only be getting 10. Shudder Imagine actually consuming 40 teaspoons of sugar in a day. You probably can’t – at least not without a sickening feeling … Continue reading →

On Eating Well

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With all the talk we devote in this and many other blogs about the obesity epidemic in this country – we forget that there are still millions of people in the world who go hungry. With America seemingly leading the way in the epidemic on obesity – we have Americans who are starving. Sometimes we get so caught up in the rheotoric and the hype that we forget. Weight loss is a great goal for those of us who can afford to eat and it’s an even better goal for those of us who don’t healthy – but what about … Continue reading →