Fitness is Fun!
October 2007

Greetings from the office of the President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program! You have received the October 2007 issue of Fitness is Fun, the official e-mail distribution of the President's Challenge. These monthly e-mails will keep you updated on our programs, activities of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) and other current information pertaining to health and fitness.

Fitness Question of the Month for October:

Who inspires you to maintain an Active Lifestyle?

Please respond via E-mail to The President's Challenge at preschal@indiana.edu. We'll include the most insightful responses in the November issue of Fitness is Fun. Be sure to view the responses to September's Fitness Question near the end of this newsletter.

Have you or someone else motivated a group of children or adults to lead a healthier life? Email us your story at Preschal@indiana.edu and it could be featured in next month’s newsletter!

PCPFS NEWS:

President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Science Board Honor Award Nominations
The PCPFS Honor Award is given annually to an academic or research professional who has made a major contribution to the advancement and promotion of the science of physical activity, in addition to being an advocate of the PCPFS’ mission.

A call for nominations and submission information will be posted on the PCPFS and President’s Challenge (PC) websites and publicized in the PCPFS and PC e-newsletters.

Nominations must be submitted electronically by November 15 to the PCPFS office. Nominations will then be forwarded to the Science Board members. The Science Board will recommend an award winner to the PCPFS Executive Director at the annual December Science Board meeting. The PCPFS Executive Director will make the final decision and notify the award winner.

To view previous winners or to nominate an individual please visit: http://fitness.gov/news-honorawardprocess.htm

NIH WE CAN! Trainings
Due to popular demand, the National Institutes of Health is hosting two additional We Can! Trainings. We Can! is a turn-key education program designed to help families and children maintain a healthy weight. To date, more than 370 organizations in 43 states have committed to working with We Can!'s science-based, childhood overweight prevention materials. There is no registration fee for the events. The first training is in Carson City, Nevada, October 29-30, 2007. The second training is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, November 5-6, 2007. See the attached email, fact sheet, and training brochure and agenda for more information.

To learn more about We Can! Please visit: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/.

PCPFS Physical Activity & Fitness Research Digest
The PCPFS Fitness Research Digest is published quarterly by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. The Research Digest began in 1971 by H. Harrison Clark, Ed.D., a research professor of physical education at the University of Oregon. In keeping with H. Harrison Clark’s original intent, the editorial team does its best to identify and produce Digests that are current to the fields of physical activity, fitness, physical education, and sports. To subscribe to the Digest please visit http://www.presidentschallenge.org/misc/news_research/research_digest.aspx.

Announcing the National Prevention and Health Promotion Summit: Creating a Culture of Wellness
We are pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will host the 2007 National Prevention and Health Promotion Summit: Creating a Culture of Wellness. This November 27-29, 2007 event will unite health professionals, business entrepreneurs, and government leaders at all levels who are dedicated to health promotion, chronic disease prevention, health preparedness, birth defects, disabilities, genomics, and wellness.

Please visit http://www.healthierus.gov/ for important updates on this national meeting.

President's Challenge NEWS:

Track your Time Ad Campaign
The President's Challenge recently launched an ad campaign featuring an all new set of characters being physically active. The characters highlight the importance of being physically active and promote the tracking tools on the President's Challenge website. These characters are also highlighted on the 2007-08 President's Challenge poster and in the instruction booklet. The ads can be found on our website at http://www.presidentschallenge.org/misc/news_research/press_room.aspx under Media Downloads. There is also a screensaver version to remind everyone to track their time.

The 2006-2007 State Champions Winners Announced

On October 1, the 2006-2007 State Champion Winners were announced. The President’s Challenge would like to congratulate all of the winning schools. We would like to also thank all other participating schools and hope you will continue your school’s goal of becoming a President’s Challenge state champion school. To view the winners in each state visit http://www.presidentschallenge.org/educators/school_recognition/state_champs_06_07.aspx.

Gladys Dart: Cross Country Running in Rural Alaska
The Gladys Dart School students and staff participated in cross-country running for the first time. Students along with teachers, trained for four weeks to increase their cardiovascular health. The students’ goal was to run four miles. Students gradually increased their distance and even added hills into their course to add to difficulty. Participating students at Gladys Dart School said their cross-country experience was gratifying because they were able to stay active. They also commented how students and teachers both learned that motivating each other had a positive impact on their performance. Gladys Dart School became a 2006-2007 model school.

Have you or someone else motivated a group of children or adults to lead a healthier life? Email us your story at preschal@indiana.edu. and it could be featured in next month’s newsletter!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Diversity in Physical Activity and Health: Measurement and Research Issues and Challenges

The Cooper Institute
Dallas, Texas
October 18 - 20, 2007

Diversity in Physical Activity and Health: Measurement and Research Issues and Challenges. Topics related to diversity, physical activity, and measurement / research methods are solicited and may include basic / applied research or policy / program development and evaluation. We encourage abstracts focusing on projects and initiatives that address physical activity issues in relation to diversity and measurement issues and challenges.

Conference website: http://www.cooperinst.org/events/scientific/program.cfm
Abstracts website: http://www.cooperinstitute.org/events/scientific/abstracts.cfm
All abstracts are to be submitted to Melba Morrow at the following email address: mmorrow@cooperinst.org

julie sweet
GET FIT AND HAVING FUN AROUND AMERICA WITH FITNESS MOM®!

julie
Below are excerpts from Julie E. Sweet’s book,
"365 Activities for Fitness, Food, and Fun for the Whole Family.”

These are activities you and your family can do together as part of an active lifestyle.

"DISPOSABLE" BUS STOP BREAKFAST
"Straight-A" students have a couple of things in common; first of all they read a lot, second of all, they eat breakfast four-out-of-five days a week. Breakfast jump starts the day and fuels the entire body, including the brain! Here are some ideas to tempt kids who claim they aren't breakfast eaters! Send your child off to the bus stop with these "100% disposable" meals:

Take a plastic zip bag and fill it with a serving of healthy cereal (whole grain with at least 3 grams of fiber and no more than 5 grams of sugar per serving) and pour in enough skim milk to cover. Zip tightly. Pack a plastic spoon for eating out of the bag and a straw to slurp up the milk -- and it's off to wait for the school bus. When done, discard in the trash. No mess!

Make a "breakfast cone". Fill an ice cream cone with yogurt, fruit, and top off with granola. It is a completely edible meal - which will probably disappear long before the bus arrives!

"THE A-Z SCAVENGER HUNT"
Teach your children to be good environmental observers and re-enforce learning by having your child spot an object that begins with the letter "A" (such as "ant"), then go on to the letter "B", then C, and so forth ...right through tot he letter Z. The time passes quickly, sharpens a few skills and your children will really appreciate your involvement.

"CRAZY COUNT"
Have the kids count and keep track of how many telephone poles, cross walks, fire hydrants, sidewalk gates, Maple trees, barking dogs or driveways that they pass on their way. Each day the group can choose a different object. At the end of the week, recall a summary of the objects and how many of each you observed. This is a good counting and memory challenge.

INTRODUCE YOUR CHILD TO THE STALK MARKET FOR AN AFTER-SCHOOL SNACK

This is a fun after-school activity and a healthy snack all-in-one!

Create a salad bar using a 12-muffin tin. Fill each of the twelve cups with any of the following: red, green or yellow pepper cubes, baby carrots, celery sticks, raisins, croutons, baby spinach leaves, cucumber slices, kidney beans, chick peas, cheese cubes, raw broccoli florets, sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes, etc. Give your child a half pita (whole wheat) and let him fill it with any assortment of his choice. Explore new tastes and textures - at this salad bar, sampling is encouraged!

For more fun activities visit www.fitnessmom.com
E-mail Julia Sweet fitnessmom@comcast.net

NEWS AND RESEARCH

The NFL and United Way help create fitness zones for kids
Hometown Huddle is a United Way annual event where all 32 NFL teams lend aid and assistance to members of their community. This year’s Hometown Huddle was held on October 10. More than 300 players, team representatives, and their families interact with approximately 3,000 United Way agency recipients during the Hometown Huddle events held coast to coast. This national day of community service was designed to represent a snapshot of some of the volunteer activities in which NFL teams participate year round with local United Way agencies.

Twenty-five NFL teams are creating fitness zones at United Way agencies. Children of the Boys and Girls Club in Millvale, Pittsburgh, were surprised when they were greeted by a dozen Pittsburgh Steelers players unveiling the club’s new strength and cardio exercise room. For more information on activities held year round by NFL teams visit http://www.unitedway.org/nfl/.

Safe Routes to School increases exercise in children
Safe Routes to school is an international movement whose goal is to make it safe, convenient and fun for children to bicycle and walk to school everyday. This improves community and personal health, benefits the environment, increase safety and helps to decrease; traffic and congestion around schools. The most successful programs incorporate the five E’s: education, encouragement, engineering, enforcement and evaluation.

Safe Routes to School works to reverse the decline in children walking and biking to school. In 1969, approximately 50 percent of children walked or biked to school. Today, fewer than 15 percent of schoolchildren walk or bike to school. As a result, kids today are less active, less independent and less healthy. As much as 30 percent of morning traffic is generated by parents driving their children to schools.

For more information about Safe Routes to School:
Visit the National Center for Safe Routes to School website.
Visit the Safe Routes to School National Partnership website.

FITNESS QUESTION OF THE MONTH

What have you done to promote physical activity at the beginning of the school year?

Fitness Question Responses for the Month of September:

I personally have begun to take a dance class; Jazz. As I watched my daughter in June recitals I thought to myself, "I can do that". Well, I have started the class and also recruited 6 other teachers in my building. We have been challenged but overall I feel GREAT!
~Kelly

We have a Step Club at our school that rewards fitness and sport's activities outside the school environment. The students log their "hours of activity" and turn them in weekly. I keep track of the hours in the gym and put their names in the weekly newsletter.
~Jeanine K. Duke

This year at Moffitt Elementary School in Springfield, Oregon, our 4th and 5th Grade Students are participating in Fitness Friday. The students pair up, one wears a pedometer and they walk the track. We encourage fast walking and talking to their buddies.
~Helen

As our year began, to promote the importance of fitness in our PE classes my middle school girls were offered extra credit for bringing in a photo of themselves being physically active during the summer. Their photos were interspersed with banners of our class motto, FIT4FUN, to create our locker room bulletin board. It drew a lot of positive attention to their summer fitness activities and also helped me create a relevant message about the importance of being FIT4FUN!
~Patti

We started our Run for Fun Club. Students meet on Monday through Thursday mornings from 8:20-8:40 to run/walk as many ¼ mile laps as they want. Their mileage card is punched with each lap they complete and they earn a charm with every mile. Last year we ran 951 miles.
~Marianne

To promote physical activity at the beginning of this school year the 10 year and 7 year old boys are participating in the Championship Academy Kids Marathon. The challenge is to run at least one mile per week for 26 weeks.
~Steve

Our school participates in the Wisconsin Governor's Challenge each fall. This is a six-week version of the Active Lifestyle Program. Students record their physical activity for six consecutive weeks. Their goal is to exercise at least one hour for five days or more days each week. Students who successfully complete the program are awarded a certificate signed by the governor and entered in a drawing for a gift certificate toward our school apparel. We also have a cross country team for grades five through eight. They practice and compete regularly throughout the fall. A couple weeks ago we visited a state park and hiked on scenic trails overlooking the Mississippi River. The steep slopes made this a rigorous workout.
~Matthew

REMINDERS:

Remember to fill out State Champion, Model School, and Demonstration Center applications to ensure that your students are rewarded for their hard work! For more information, including application deadlines and guidelines, please visit http://www.presidentschallenge.org/educators/school_recognition.aspx.

SPECIAL THANKS

We would like to extend a special thanks to all of the President's Challenge Advocates. Please visit the Advocates area on the http://www.presidentschallenge.org/ web site to see how companies, organizations and groups are making a difference with the President's Challenge.

FEEDBACK

We would like to hear from you. If you have any topics that you would like to see addressed in Fitness is Fun or any comments regarding this list, please let us know. You can provide them by emailing us at preschal@indiana.edu.

To view past issues of Fitness is Fun visit our website: http://www.presidentschallenge.org/. Enter the site by choosing the appropriate category, then click on "news/research".

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Fitness is Fun! October 2007

Fitness is Fun!
October 2007