Announcements

Greetings from the office of the President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program! You have received the August 2003 issue of fitnessisfun, the official e-mail distribution of the President's Challenge. These monthly e-mails will keep you updated on our program, activities of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) and other current information pertaining to fitness.

President's Challenge Launches New Website!
President's Council Chairman Lynn Swann launched the new interactive President's Challenge website on July 18th at the Lakewest Family YMCA in Dallas, TX. Council Vice Chair, Dorothy "Dot" Richardson, and Council Members Ted Mitchell, Paul Corrozza, and John Burke also took part in the launch. The Council members spent part of the day at the Y helping children create their own activity logs in an effort to begin earning Presidential Recognition. The website allows children, adults, seniors, and teachers the ability to track progress towards earning one of the Presidential Physical Activity and Fitness Awards. In addition to highlighting his Healthier US initiative, President Bush praised the work of the Council and the development of the website and highlighted the PCPFS goal of getting 20 million Americans to be active at least 30 minutes a day/ five days per week in the next two years. You can help us reach that goal by encouraging your students, co-workers, family and friends to get active and use the site's free activity log at www.presidentschallenge.org For more information on the President's Healthier US and other initiatives, visit www.whitehouse.gov

Teachers, don't worry. All information relating to the Presidential Physical Activity and Fitness Awards is still available in print format. The annual school mailings are scheduled to go out the last week of August.

Plan Now to Earn the Recognition Your School Deserves
Now is the time to start thinking about how you would like your school to be recognized for its efforts towards improving the physical fitness and health of its students. As long as you implement the coordinating President's Challenge program and motivate and help your students to be active and serve as leaders in health and fitness, applying for either the State Champion or Active Lifestyle Model School Awards or Demonstration Center designation is easy. Applications for the State Champions and Model School awards are due by July 1, 2004. You can apply for Demonstration Center recognition at any time. For more information on the award programs, check out the Educators Section at www.presidentschallenge.org.

Now You Can Become a Presidential Champion
In addition to a new website and expanding the reach of the President's Active Lifestyle Award to include adults and seniors, the President's Challenge has a new awards program. The Presidential Champions Physical Activity program is for people who are already very active and want more of a challenge in their quest to earn presidential recognition. Visit the President's Challenge website for more information.

Lynn Swann Answers Your Questions Online
Recently, Lynn Swann, the Chairman of the President's Council on Sport and Fitness sat down to answer your questions about the President's Challenge Physical Activity Program's new website and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For a full transcript of the chat, please visit http://www.whitehouse.gov.

Dot Richardson Online and On Radio
Vice Chair of the President's Council, Dr. Dorothy "Dot" Richardson, spoke on behalf of the President's Challenge on August 9th on wsradio.com. Dr. Richardson highlighted the great possibilities the new website provides in terms of its ability to reach people of all ages and the numerous ways in which individuals can be active and earn credit towards a Presidential Active Lifestyle Award. To hear Dr. Richardson's radio interview go to http://www.presidentschallenge.org/misc/news_research/press_room.aspx

We've Moved!
The President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program has moved.

The new address is:

Improving Health Through Parks
The Hearts N' Parks program, developed by the National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) was introduced in 1999. The purpose of the program is to "reduce the growing trend of obesity and the risk of coronary heart diseases in the U.S." among children, adolescents and adults. According to a new performance report on the program, success has been found in the number of participants who have reported adopting healthier lifestyle behaviors, including choosing heart-healthy foods and increasing levels of physical activity. The complete performance report can be found on the NRPA website at http://www.nrpa.org. For more information on the Hearts N' Parks program, please visit http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/obesity/hrt_n_pk/index.htm

No. 1 Sports Injury for Grown-up, Adolescents and Children
According to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number one sports injuries for children, adolescents and adults may not be what you think. Adults, 25 and older, are most likely to get hurt and require medical attention while biking, golfing, bowling and playing racquet sports. Seventy-five percent of these injuries occur when individuals fall, get struck by a person or object or as a result of overexertion. Children, ages 5-14, and adolescents, ages 15-24, are most likely to suffer injuries from biking and playing basketball, respectively. There are an estimated total of 7 million Americans requiring medical attention each year. For more information on injuries, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov.

Survey: Americans Clean Their Plates No Matter How Full
A recent survey conducted by the American Institute for Cancer Research found that 69 percent of Americans finish large food portions most or all of the time, even when portion size was huge. When dining at full-service restaurants, 37 percent of people reported eating their entire meal. This number is a drastic increase from the 7 percent that reported the same in 2000. By eating large portions, it is estimated that Americans can unknowingly consume as many as 56 percent more calories than necessary each day. An example of the remarkable increase in portion size can be seen in a single order of fries. In 1955 a single order of fries weighed 2.4 ounces, contrasting to a 2002 order weighing 7.1 ounces. Unfortunately, few people recognize increases in portion size, which increases the risk of a person consuming far more calories than necessary. For more information on this topic and its relationship to the prevalence of cancer, please visit http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/18/portions.reut/index.html.

Report: U.S. Kids Living Longer Getting Fatter
The National Institute of Health, the Census Bureau and other agencies recently released the Report on America's Children 2003, an evaluation of children's well being in economic security, health, behavior, social environment and education. There is much good news to report as the nearly 73 million children in the U.S. are doing better than ever before. For example, more U.S. children and adolescents are giving up cigarettes and finishing high school while fewer children and adolescents are drinking alcohol and having babies. Unfortunately, children are in the most trouble with respect to physical activity and prevalence of being overweight and obese. The report shows drastic increases in the amount of overweight children from just three years ago. For information on this report, please visit http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/parenting/07/18/kids.health/index.html

AAP Makes Recommendation on How to Curb Obesity Epidemic
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a statement calling on pediatricians, parents, coaches, and other influencers of youth habits to discuss preventive health issues with children. AAP recommends the promotion of physical activity including unstructured play as one piece of the overweight/obesity puzzle. To view the statement, go to http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/augobesity.htm

America On the Move
America on the Move is a nation-wide program with the primary goal of getting people to walk an additional 2000 steps per day. These steps equate to approximately one mile walked and 100 calories burned. On average, Americans currently take an average of 5310 steps each day. The addition of 2000 steps per day will aid Americans in maintaining their weight (vs. adding to it). The program advocates the use of pedometers to count the number of steps taken each day. To read more on America on the Move, please visit http://www.americaonthemove.org or http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-07-09-america-move-usat_x.htm.

Healthy K.I.D.S. Newsletter
Developed by The Children's Health Fund's National Children's Health Project Network, the Healthy K.I.D.S. (Knowledge Improving Diet and Strength) newsletter is published quarterly and provides fitness and nutrition tips and activities in an easy-to-read, culturally diverse format. Newsletters are available in English and Spanish at www.childrenshealthfund.org/hk.html

New Website for Kids/Teachers
KidsRunning.com is a new website provided by Runner's World. The site offers information for kids and teachers regarding safe running workouts; lesson plans for teachers to use to incorporate running with learning; stories and pictures from kids about running; and other news and informational resources for kids and adults. Go to www.kidsrunning.com.

Walk to School Resources Available
Are you interested in getting more children to walk to school? If so, visit the Walk to School website www.walktoschool.org and participate in International Walk to School Day, which takes place on October 8, 2003. An added feature on the website under the "Who's Walking" link features resource people you can contact for information on how to start or participate in an event in your area. In addition, by clicking on "Register Online," you can register to receive regular email updates on Walk to School happenings as well as volunteer to be a resource person in your area.

Home Depot
Home Depot, the fastest growing retailer in U.S. History, is the newest corporation to take part in the President's Challenge Physical Fitness and Activity Awards Program. Through their "Building Better Health" program, they have incorporated the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award at both the regional and national levels. As part of the program, information on the President's Challenge Program was distributed to employees at the more than 1500 stores in the U.S. and the company's national office. Motivational slides have been placed in break rooms; program information has been featured in the company newspaper; activity logs have been distributed to employees; and wellness representatives have been designated at store sites. The company offers a fitness facility at the national office and corporate discounts for health club memberships. For more information on Home Depot, please visit http://www.homedepot.com.

Council Member Jaime A. Davidson, M.D., FACP, FACE
Dr. Jaime Davidson is currently with Endocrine and Diabetes Associates of Texas and is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School. He also serves many other roles including a second term on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American College of Endocrinology. He has received numerous awards associated with endocrinology and diabetes including the Rainbow Award from the American Diabetes Association and the Order of the Eagle from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. For more information on Dr. Davidson, please visit the President's Council on Sport and Fitness website at http://www.fitness.gov.

FEEDBACK
We would love to hear from you. If you have any topics that you would like to see addressed in fitnessisfun or any comments on this list please let us know. You can provide them by emailing us at preschal@indiana.edu