Fitness is Fun!
May 2005

Action for Healthy Kids Launches New Web site
Action for Healthy Kids, a non-profit organization specifically to address the epidemic of overweight, undernourished, and sedentary youth by focusing on changes at school, has introduced its new and improved Web site, http://www.actionforhealthykids.org. AFHK concentrates its efforts on improving children's eating habits, improving children's physical activity, and educating administrators, teachers, kids and parents about nutrition and physical activity and their impact on academic performance. Among its other features, the Web site includes state-by-state information and resources and information that other programs have found helpful.

The President's Challenge and AFHK have announced a collaboration to promote the Physical Activity and Fitness Awards program through ReCharge, an after-school program that will be available to 6,000 school districts. The goal of ReCharge, developed by AFHK and the National Football League, is to teach children in grades 3-6 the value of physical activity and proper nutrition through fun, team-based activites. Children will have the opportunity to earn Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards for being active 60 minutes a day, five days a week for six weeks. In addition, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports recently joined over 50 organizations and government agencies as a member of the Partner Steering Committee.

Congress Asked to Legislate on Childhood Obesity
The passage of the Prevention of Childhood Obesity Act proposed on April 15 would make the childhood obesity epidemic a national health priority by ensuring that the Federal Government is continuing efforts to design and implement policies intending to prevent childhood obesity. The bill would require the involvement of nearly all federal agencies. It calls for the Department of Education to require local education agencies that receive federal funds to ban vending machines that sell foods of poor or minimal nutritional value in schools. The bill also calls for The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish centers to disseminate evidence-based practices on childhood obesity prevention, and for the National Institutes of Health to give priority to research on prevention of childhood obesity. For the related article from the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, please visit http://www.healthinschools.org/2005/apr18_alert.asp. To view to bill and track its progress, visit http://thomas.loc.gov

Heat Stress in Exercising Children
As the summer months bring warmer temperatures, teachers, parents, and coaches should be aware of the dangers of heat stress in exercising children. An article from the American Academy of Pediatrics outlines risk factors and precautions to keep in mind in high-heat or high-humidity situations. For instance, children have a greater surface area-to-body mass ratio than adults, which causes greater heat gain in hot temperatures. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following for children and adolescents:

• The intensity of activities that last 15 minutes or more should be reduced whenever relative humidity, solar radiation, and air temperature are above critical levels.
• At the beginning of a strenuous exercise program or after traveling to a warmer climate, the intensity and duration of exercise should be limited initially and then gradually increased during a period of 10 to 14 days to accomplish acclimatization to the heat.
• Before prolonged physical activity, the child should be well-hydrated. During the activity, periodic drinking should be enforced, even if the child does not feel thirsty. Weighing before and after a training session can verify hydration status if the child is weighed wearing little or no clothing.
• Clothing should be light-colored and lightweight and limited to one layer of absorbent material to facilitate evaporation of sweat. ¹