Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

Project Measure Up doesn't exist just to help cash-strapped school districts with personnel costs. The real goal is to have ready access to all that raw data to get a detailed picture of the county's childhood obesity problem today and what health problems those kids will face years from now, organizers say.

“We can predictively tell you within a 5 percent margin of error what our cardiovascular illness is going to be in 20 years based on these children right now. And that's really important for our future planning and legislation,” said Nicole Rogers, executive director of the Health Collaborative, a group of local hospitals, health agencies and charitable foundations that sponsors Project Measure Up.

Eight local independent school districts — Alamo Heights, East Central, Edgewood, Harlandale, Judson, Somerset, South San Antonio and South Side — have accepted the group's offer of free, trained volunteers to help with the tests. The three largest districts — North East, Northside and San Antonio — have not, although discussions are under way with San Antonio, Rogers said.

“It's been a process of earning trust in the schools,” Rogers said.

Labels: fitness, schools, texas

Labels: diabetes, fitness, teenagers

Rounding out the Men's Fitness top five "fittest cities" were Colorado Springs, Minneapolis, Denver and Albuquerque.

Miami was named the "fattest city" because of the number of fast food restaurant there, low usage rates for fitness centers, and other factors.

Labels: enviroment, fitness, sports

Labels: fitness, grades, physical_activity

"Physical play can help children discover what their bodies can do. They'll increase their skills and gain the confidence to try new things. Children confident in their abilities are more likely to interact with other children and develop emotionally, socially, cognitively - and, of course, physically."

Labels: basics, fitness, prevention

"'Take A Child Outside Week' is designed to encourage outside play and exploration to combat obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control more than 17 percent of children are obese, and millions more are overweight. Experts believe outside play and exploration for as little as 30 minutes a day can combat the trend."

Labels: exercise, fitness

"She decided to create a program to give kids a chance to become marathon runners...The Aiken Parks and Recreation Department's two-month running program challenges children from kindergarten through fifth grade to run a mile a day, and up to five miles a week, from Aug. 22 to Oct 25."

Labels: exercise, fitness

"Girls 9 to 13 years old who are overweight or obese are referred to BodyWorks through their pediatrician, or by word of mouth. Parents and caregivers attend 10 weekly 90-minute sessions, and girls are expected to show up for at least three. The goal is to give parents and caregivers 'hands-on tools to make small behavior changes to prevent obesity and help maintain a healthier weight.'"

Labels: community, fitness, health

"Limit the amount of time you watch television. By doing this, you will find it easier to limit the amount of time your child watches TV and movies, or plays video and computer games. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a maximum of two hours of viewing time for children each day."

Labels: families, fitness, role_models

"...a growing wave of research indicates that children who spend time outdoors are healthier, overall, than their indoor counterparts. Children who regularly spend unstructured time outside play more creatively, have lower stress levels, have more active imaginations, become more active and fitter, develop stronger immune systems, experience fewer symptoms of ADD and ADHD, have greater respect for themselves, for others and for the environment."

Labels: exercise, fitness, playgrounds

"BCBAZ has enhanced the Walk On! Challenge for 2008 to inspire even more Arizona fifth-graders around the state to walk. Enhancements include Walk4Life pedometers, subject-specific lesson ideas selected from submissions by teachers statewide and more incentives for participants."

Labels: exercise, fitness, healthy_living

"[Dr. Linda] Carson said a big reason childhood obesity has reached a crisis mode in our country is physical inactivity. 'Our children need to be encouraged to be physically active', Carson said."

Labels: education, fitness, schools

"Overtime, which opened in September and still hasn't turned a profit, is entering the market as established chains are trying to get kids to become lifetime members. San Ramon-based 24 Hour Fitness just started 'Hoopology,' a summer basketball pilot program in the San Francisco Bay Area for boys and girls ages 8-17."

Labels: exercise, fitness, gyms

"Although some parents try to avoid youth sports until their kids are older, like 9 or 10 years old, because they want to avoid what they think is a competitive environment for their younger children, it is important to remember that most youth sports for younger kids are noncompetitive."

Labels: exercise, fitness, sports