new nike ads....

Why fad diets work well for some, but not others

Why fad diets work well for some, but not others

Inactivity 'no contributor' to childhood obesity epidemic...which comes first: obesity or inactivity?

Fatness leads to inactivity, but inactivity does not lead to fatness

A new report from the EarlyBird Diabetes Study suggests that physical activity has little if any role to play in the obesity epidemic among children. Obesity is the key factor behind diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

EarlyBird is based at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, UK, and has been observing in detail a cohort of city school children for the past 11 years.

A review published in 2009 of all trials using physical activity to reduce childhood obesity showed weight loss amounting to just 90g (3oz) over three years, and the EarlyBird study wanted to know why the trials were so ineffective. So they challenged some popular paradigms.

It is well known that less active children are fatter, but that does not mean – as most people assume it does – that inactivity leads to fatness. It could equally well be the other way round: that obesity leads to inactivity.

And this is the question EarlyBird was uniquely placed to answer. With data collected annually over several years from a large cohort of children, it could ask the question – which comes first? Does the physical activity of the child precede changes in fatness over time, or does the fatness of the child precede changes in physical activity over time?

And the answer, published recently in Archives of Disease in Childhood, was clear. Physical activity had no impact on weight change, but weight clearly led to less activity.

The implications are profound for public health policy, because the physical activity of children (crucial to their fitness and well-being) may never improve unless the burgeoning levels of childhood obesity are first checked. If this cannot be achieved through physical activity, the focus has to be on what – and how much – children consume.

EarlyBird has already shown how the trajectory leading to obesity is established very early in life, long before children go to school, and how most childhood obesity is associated with obesity in the same-sex parent.

While portion size, calorie-dense snacks and sugary drinks are all important contributors, early feeding errors seem crucial - and physical activity is not the answer.

New source of information - exercise updates

New source of information - sports medicine updates

then and now by Vern Gambetta

I have seen and heard much discussion regarding how different kids are today. I hear that they are lazy, not fit, disrespectful, they just won't do the things that kids did forty or fifty years ago. Since I am still involved in day to day coaching of high school athletes I also have given this issue much thought. I guess the perspective of coaching 41 years at all levels of competition gives me some insights that others who started later may not have. I also have been a classroom teacher, history and geography, a teacher of physical education and a coach of multiple sports. A few preparatory points are necesaary1) The older you get the easier it is to remember the good of the good old days and forget the bad. 2) We live in an entirely different world today than 41 years ago. Those points being made please indulge me as I attempt to explain what I see in kids today.

Lets look at then first:

Students rode bikes or walked to school

Kids had mandatory daily physical education

Most kids started playing three sports in elementary or middle school and then narrowed it down to two by high school

Family structure was still there

You seldom saw a latchkey kid

Less litigation

No high fructose corn syrup

No professionalization of youth and high school sports

Sports were centered in the schools and recreation departments

Parents were interested, but not directly involved

There were virtually no competitive opportunities for girls

Coaches were usually trained teachers, often physical education teachers

Coaches were the experts, because in many cases they were

Coaches did not specialize they coached multiple sports

A sporting event on TV was special because there was not many of them

No national high school or youth championships

You wore Converse or Keds, black or white was the choice of colors

There were strict transfer rules – no changing schools in midyear because you did not like the coach or you were not starting

Let look at now:

Students ride to school

No mandatory physical education and no recess

Kids specialize in one sport from an early age

Sports are centered outside the schools

Coaches are not trained as educators; in essence anyone can be a coach

Parents are involved; they run and have ownership of school and club programs because of fundraising

National championships in youth sports and high school sports

Sports are on television 24/7

Our diet is worse than most third world nations

Kids spend hours a day on computers and cell phones

The only time many kids play is at organized practice

We have more knowledge in sports medicine and sport science

We have significantly better facilities

Unlimited competitive opportunities for boys and girls

If you are not a starter or a star you either quit or transfer

So what the conclusion? First of all you cannot separate sport from society. I have always felt sport is a reflection and in some ways a magnification of what you see in society, both good and bad. We are a nation of consumers, instant gratification and fast money. So a logical step as a reflection of society is to use kids to make money and build reputations. The shoe and apparel companies really do not care about kids they are concerned with the bottom line. In your face ads and smack talking sport stars sell shoes. With sports on 24/7 the kids imitate their role models good and bad. We live in a throwaway world, national champion at 13, nobody at 16. Who cares? Essentially we - adults, parents, coaches and administrators have created a monster. What we see in today’s kids is the result of an over indulgent culture. We have lowered the bar, eliminated behavioral expectations and compromised sound educational principles to chase a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that is not here.

So is it all l that bleak, all gloom and doom? No way! We need to stop and take a long look at what we as parents, coaches, administrators, in short the adult authority figures need to do. We need to raise the bar, set a higher level of expectation for the kids in areas that matter. I see the kids that I work with day to day achieve at a very high standard, just like the kids I coached 40 years ago. I have the same standards and they know what they are and reach up to those standards. Lets stop blaming the kids and look at ourselves in the context of society. These kids are crying out for teaching, structure, and firm fair discipline, they want the special experience that real coaching can provide. Lets not cop out and blame the kids, we all need to look in the mirror and raise our standards.

Ohio Senate lifts exercise rule from obesity bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — At the urging of school groups, the Ohio Senate has removed a provision from a childhood obesity bill that would require students to get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day while in school.

Groups representing teachers and school boards told a Senate committee last week that it would be impossible to implement the measure without money to pay for it. Most schools will see state funding cuts or freezes next year.

"We can't solve every social problem at the school door," said Darold Johnson of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. "We need to do what we do well, and that's educate."

Jeff McCuen, treasurer of Worthington City Schools near Columbus, said the 30-minute exercise requirement would cost the district $4 million and take time away from core classes.

Other provisions in the bill would increase nutrition standards for a la carte food and beverages served in schools and require students to get body-mass-index screenings.

State Sen. Kevin Coughlin, a Republican from Cuyahoga Falls, agreed to take the exercise requirement out of his bill and instead allow districts to obtain a waiver. But he added that society rightfully asks a lot of public schools.

"While I share the view that parents have responsibilities on all these things, I can also have the view that our schools should be doing the right stuff while our students are in there nine months a year, seven hours a day," he said.

One in three American children is overweight or obese, increasing their risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses, and contributing to high health care costs.

First lady Michelle Obama has made a campaign against childhood obesity. A government panel issued a report last week recommending 70 specific steps that all levels of government, the private sector, schools, parents and others can take.

Some of the recommendations call for updated federal nutrition standards for meals served at schools and more school-based nutrition education.

Obama has said her goal is to solve the problem within a generation so that babies born today can come of age at a healthy weight.