Feb 2003 - fitnessisfun

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

NEW ADDRESS FOR PRESIDENT'S CHALLENGE WEBSITE
As we prepare for many exciting changes this year to the President's Challenge, we have also changed the address for our website. You can now visit http://www.PresidentsChallenge.org for the same great program and information. This new address will redirect you to our current website, which remains active, but will hopefully make it much easier to remember. Look for some great changes in the near future on our website!

ROYALL NAMED PCPFS INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CDR Penelope Royall, was recently named the interim Executive Director for the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. A U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Officer, CDR Royall has served as senior Public Health Advisor in the Office of Public Health and Science, Immediate Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC. She earned a degree in Physical Therapy and a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For more information please visit http://www.fitness.gov.

REPLAY: PCPFS ANNOUNCES GENERAL MILLS PARTNERSHIP
The General Mills Foundation, The American Dietetic Association Foundation and the President's Challenge are partnering to improve youth nutrition and fitness across the United States. The joint initiative, General Mills Champions, will award 50 grants of up to $10,000 each to community -based groups that develop creative ways to help youth maintain a balanced diet and physically active lifestyle. In addition to the community grants, The General Mills Foundation will sponsor up to 50,000 young people to participate in The President's Challenge and earn the PALA for their commitment to a physically active and fit lifestyle. To learn more about how you can champion youth in your community visit http://www.generalmills.com/foundation.

STATE DEMONSTRATION COORDINATORS NEEDED
We are still seeking persons to serve as State Demonstration Center Coordinators for their states. These coordinators play a vital role for the President's Challenge in evaluating schools in their state to serve as Demonstration Centers. We welcome educators and administrators at all levels to serve in this position. For more information or to see if your state currently has a coordinator visit our Demonstration Center website at http://www.indiana.edu/~preschal/demonstrationcenters.shtml. Interested persons should email preschal@indiana.edu.

OBESITY CAN CUT YEARS OF LIFE OF ADULTS AND YOUTHS
A recent study appearing in the January 7, 2003 edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that people who are overweight or obese at or above the age of 40 will have a shortened life expectancy by at least 6 to 7 years. Obese and overweight smokers can double this number. A similar study conducted at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has found similar trends in those obese and overweight individuals at the age of 20. Obesity is classified as being over 20 percent more than an individual's maximum healthy body weight. This added weight strains and stresses the heart and body to a difficult degree and increases the likelihood of diseases such as diabetes. To read the full details of these two studies, please visit http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/06/obesity.mortality/index.html and http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/08/obesity.young.reut/index.html.

OBESITY & DIABETES STILL ON THE RISE
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov) recently reported findings about the increasing rates of obesity and diabetes in Americans. According to this study, in 2001 more than 44 million Americans were obese and 16.7 million Americans were diagnosed with diabetes. When compared to the prior year, the nation's obesity rate increased from 19.8 to 20.9 percent and the number of diagnosed diabetes cases increased from 7.3 to 7.9 percent. It is believed that these increases are even higher as the data is based on phone interviews rather than actual physical examinations. To read the full details of these findings, please visit http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/conditions/01/01/obesity.diabetes.ap/index.html.

OBESITY DECLARED A GLOBAL PROBLEM
The World Health Organization has declared obesity as a global problem. Obesity effects 21 percent of U.S. adults, however, some European countries see obesity rates as high as 45 percent. Typically, Europeans are slimmer than Americans, but they are catching up fast. This is due to less walking, poor diet, more time spent in front of computers, and machines performing daily manual tasks once assigned to humans. Associated with these increases in obesity is also the increase in health care costs, disease and mortality rates. For more information on this declaration, please visit http://www.msnbc.com/news/853415.asp.

EXERCISE ESSENTIAL FOR REDUCTION OF INTERNAL FAT
Women who have high amounts of fat deep in the body are more susceptible to chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. This is most common in post-menopausal women, typically above the age of 50. A recent study performed by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that exercise not only reduced the outward body fat, but also the amount of internal body fat used to cushion and surround internal organs. Exercise regimes consisted of 30-45 minutes of aerobic activity five days a week. To read more about this topic, please visit http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/14/exercise.internal.fat/index.html

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 DEREK D. PARRA
Derek D. Parra was appointed to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in June, 2002. Mr. Parra is a phenomenal speed skater whose successes include being the first Mexican-American to compete and medal in the Olympic Winter Olympics, being named the 2001 U.S. National Champion, the 2001 North American Champion and the 2000 U.S. All-around Champion at the 2001 World Single Distance Championships. Mr. Parra began speed skating when he traded his inline skates in for ice skates. Prior to doing this though, earned three national titles, two world championships and eighteen gold medals as an inline skater. He currently resides in Orlando, Florida where he works at Home Depot through the United States Olympic Committee's Olympic Job Opportunities Program. To read more on Derek D. Parra and other members of the President's Council, please visit http://www.fitness.gov.

EXHIBITING THE PRESIDENT'S CHALLENGE:

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
http://www.ascd.org/
San Francisco, CA
March 8-10, 2003

American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
http://www.aahperd.org/
Philadelphia, PA
April 1-5, 2003

National Association of Elementary School Principals
http://www.naesp.org/
Anaheim, CA
April 11-15, 2003

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