Announcements

Greetings from the office of the President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program! You have received the May 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.

PCPFS PRESENTS AWARDS AT AAHPERD CONFERENCE
Recently at the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (http://www.aahperd.org) Conference in Philadelphia, the PCPFS presented five individuals with awards to recognize their outstanding contributions to the field. Those presented awards were Dr. Jo Safrit, Dr. Don Franks, Dr. Chuck Corbin, Dr. Bob Pangrazi and Dr. Wynn Updyke (recently deceased). Congratulations to all of these recipients on a job well done!

AWARD ORDERING REMINDERS
As schools come to a close for the year, many of you are ordering your awards from the President's Challenge. We would like to provide you with a gentle reminder that orders are guaranteed within 18 calendar days from receipt at our office. So please give yourself extra time by ordering early! For your convenience you can order online at http://www.PresidentsChallenge.org or by calling our office at 800-258-8146. Look for many exciting changes to the President's Challenge for next year!

NATIONAL PHYSICAL FITNESS AND SPORTS MONTH
May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, a celebration of the joy and health benefits of living an active life. This year, "May Month" celebrates its 20th Birthday. Since President Reagan proclaimed the first National Physical Fitness and Sports Month in 1983, "May Month" has spurred Americans to get moving in May - individuals, families, employees in the workplace, communities, and public/private sector organizations. For more information on how you can get involved visit http://www.fitness.gov.

FITNESS FESTIVAL: LYNN SWANN PRESENTS PALA
Lynn Swann, Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, recently traveled to Blount Memorial Hospital in Tennessee to speak about the four tenets of the President's Healthier US initiative (http://www.healthierus.gov). These tenets are to be physically active every day, receive preventative screenings, eat a nutritious diet, and to make healthy choices daily. Swann, born in Blount Memorial Hospital, promoted the President's Challenge newest awards, the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award and the Presidential Adult Active Lifestyle Awards. Both awards are being used as part of a new hospital program intended to motivate local residents to get up, get out and get moving every day called "Healthier Blount". These awards emphasize daily physical activity rather than meeting specific qualifying standards for testing events. For more information on "Healthier Blount", please visit http://www.blountmemorial.org.

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: APRIL 9, 2003 ISSUE
The April 9, 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is comprised entirely of articles related to obesity for both adults and children, weight loss research, the influence of lifestyle on obesity and associated diseases such as Type 2 diabetes. JAMA promotes the science and art of medicine and the betterment of the public health. For access to this issue of JAMA, please visit http://jama.ama-assn.org/current.dtl.

WALK, RUN, FIT, FUN! CHALLENGE
Walk, Run, Fit, Fun: Take the Pedometer Challenge is an educational program created by Lifetime Learning Systems, Inc., a division of Weekly Reader, in cooperation with Pepsi. This program was designed to encourage middle school-age students and their parents to become physically active and provides pedometers to monitor their efforts. This program provides participants the opportunity to earn the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) from the President's Challenge. For more information on this program or to learn how your school can get involved contact Stephanie Cascione at Pepsi by calling 914-253-3549.

THE MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH LIBRARY
The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Library is located at the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH) at Georgetown University. The MCH library is a virtual guide to maternal and child health information. Within the website, there are a wide variety of electronic resources, including databases, publications, resources lists, web links, the MCH electronic newsletter, and other resources developed for health professionals, families and consumers. The website also provides links to information on specific topics such as oral health, domestic violence, postpartum depression, and obesity in children and adults. To access this information, please visit http://www.mchlibrary.info.

PROJECT ACES: MAY 7, 2003
Physical education teacher Len Saunders started Project ACES, American Children Exercising Simultaneously, in 1989 as a motivational tool for physical education classes. One day a year, students nationwide and abroad exercise at the same time of day for a period of 15-45 minutes. As Len puts it, "Each May, on a designated date and time, millions of school children all over the globe will exercise simultaneously in a symbolic gesture of fitness and unity to show the world that they do not fit into that negative stereotype of being "physically unfit". This non-competitive program has proven to be educational, motivational, and fun." Each year has shown an increase in participants and the potential for continual increases exists. This years Project ACES falls on May 7, 2003 at 10 a.m. For more information about this specific Project ACES event as well as a history of the movement, please visit http://www.projectaces.com.

STUDY: GENES MAY BE A FAULT FOR BINGE-EATING
A recent Swiss-German-American study examined eating behavior, more specifically will power, in relation to genetic make up. For years, researchers have examined the obesity epidemic, which increases the risk for heart disease, diabetes and many other ailments. Thirty percent of American adults are obese, up 14 percent from 25 years ago. Typically, these dramatic increases are blamed on the abundance of high-calorie foods and sedentary lifestyles. Recently, however, researchers have begun to link several genes to obesity, implicating heredity as an underlying factor. The combination of lifestyle and genetics gives rise to great concern. For a complete review of this study, please visit http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/19/binge.eating.gene.ap/.

PLAYGROUND GRANT OPPORTUNITY
KaBoom! a Washington, D.C. based nonprofit organization that helps to build playgrounds across North America, has announced its 2003 Playground Challenge Grant Program, underwritten by Computer Associates International, Inc. Deadline for application for these grants is April 30, so please hurry. For more information visit http://www.kaboom.org or download the application directly from http://kaboom.org/pdf/2003cagrantapp.pdf

CAROL M. WHITE PEP GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE
The Carol M. White PEP Grant applications are now available online at http://www.pe4life.org/. Applications are required to be submitted by May 12, 2003. Grant money can only be used to purchase equipment that will enable students to actively participate in physical education activities and/or fund physical education teacher training and education. This is the third year for the federally funded grant program that allows schools and school districts to aid physical education programs within schools. Sixty million dollars has been appropriated for this year's grant and as such, grants range from $100,000 to $500,000. For the most up-to-date information on this grant program and for an application, please visit http://www.pe4life.org/pepgrant_res.php.

DHHS/ACF HEAD START-NOTICE INVITING ABSTRACTS
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) invite abstracts from organizations for Innovation and Improvement Projects that address the President's initiatives related to the Head Start program and other priorities which meet needs related to the comprehensive nature of Head Start. The closing date for submitting abstracts is May 12, 2003 and no full proposals will be accepted. For specific information regarding the submission process, please visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/grant/fundingopportunities/fundopport.htm.

ACTIVE LIVING BY DESIGN: CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The Active Living by Design Call for Proposals has just been released. Information and a sample application that allows for preparation before for the brief proposal submission period can be found at http://www.activelivingbydesign.org. Brief proposals will be accepted through The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation from January 6 to January 31, 2003 with the deadline for full applications and proposals on May 23, 2003. Grants will be awarded to those proposals aimed at helping Americans become more physically active within given communities. Past grants of up to $200,000 to 25 different community partnerships across the country have been given. For more information, please visit the Active Living by Design website at the above address.

PROFILE: COUNCIL MEMBER IVETTE M. LIRIO
Ivette M. Lirio of Miami, Florida is a secondary school physical education teacher and Assistant Athletic Director at Barbara Goleman Senior High School. She teaches and has taught numerous fitness and physical education classes and is the current coach of the girl's soccer team and former coach for both girl's softball and volleyball. Ms Lirio also spends time as an adjunct professor at Florida International University, were she received both her B.S. and M.S. in Physical Education. For more information on Ivette M. Lirio and all of the President's Council Members, please visit http://www.fitness.gov.

EXHIBITING THE PRESIDENT'S CHALLENGE:

13th Annual Tulip Times Scholarship Games featuring Jared from Subway
Indianapolis, IN
Saturday, April 26
http://www.fitnessfarm.org

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