Building a Healthier Generation through Fitness Assessment

The generation we teach today are facing a serious health crisis. This is about as real as it gets – our youngest students are the first, ever, to be predicted to NOT outlive their parents. As physical education teachers, what we do today, and more importantly, how we do it, will make all the difference in the lives of countless students who cross our paths. It’s not just about checking the “PE” box, it’s about ensuring our students actually attain the physical literacy they need to be strong adults....

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Cooper Capitol Day

For many, childhood memories were full of games of tag, capture the flag during gym class, or unknowingly learning conflict resolution during recess, away from the watchful eye of a teacher. Today, many children are collecting far different memories. Instead of daily gym class, one in three children struggle through each day with obesity or being overweight. Instead of building social skills during recess, children are learning to manage type-2 diabetes....

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Strength Training for FitnessGram®

Students work hard to get into the Healthy Fitness Zone® in the muscular strength and endurance FitnessGram® tests, yet some remain in the Needs Improvement Zone. Strength (resistance) training activities are effective strategies physical education teachers can teach to help students improve their musculoskeletal FitnessGram® scores, and they can be fun in the process!...

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FitnessGram® in the Online Environment – How Does that Work?

With the growing trend of alternative options for receiving physical education credits, many schools, districts, and states are turning to online courses. The process of developing an online physical education course and integrating FitnessGram® assessments can be challenging, yet beneficial....

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FitnessGram Testing with Large Groups

Administering the FitnessGram assessment when you have a large number of students may seem overwhelming at first, but thoughtful preparation greatly reduces challenges on test day....

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Healthy Habits: Live them. Teach them.

In light of recent discussions around schools wanting to opt out of healthy school lunch programs, Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, Founder and Chairman of Cooper Aerobics, would like to take a moment to offer his point of view… Who Says Kids Won’t Eat Fruits and Veggies? Many families face serious health and weight challenges due to lack of proper nutrition and exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that since 1980, the percentage of overweight children ages 6 – 11 has doubled, and the percentage of overweight adolescents ages 12 – 19 has tripled. In addition, less than 25 pe...

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New Recommendations for Exercise in Children

As we mentioned last week, it is “back to school” time! So since we are on the topic of kids, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to present some recent research relating to their physical activity recommendations. You may be aware that the physical activity guidelines for kids differ from that of adults. Try to jog your memory. Do they need more or less than us adults? The answer (spelt backwards to give you a chance to answer it on your own)—EROM! Many people have the misconception that kids don’t have to worry about their health, however disease processes begin at these young ages and...

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Healthy Back-To-School Habits

Can you believe it is that time of the year again? Summer flew by (at least for me it did) and now your kids have either started school or will be in the next couple of weeks. Are you in the camp of jumping for joy or dreading it? Well I am in the camp of parents who are sending their firstborn off to Kindergarten. I can’t believe my little man is really a little man! Watching him run into his new school with a backpack the size of him without looking back will forever be burned in my memory. With this milestone of course not only came a mix of emotions but also a pretty significant change ...

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Sweat It Out This Summer!

The Fourth of July has come and gone. For many this is the signal that the summer is halfway over. Before you know it, the kids will be starting back to school. But in the meantime, the sun is shining, the sky is clear, so… Kick the kids out of the house so they can play, or better yet join them! Physical activity is important for everyone and it provides long term health benefits such as increased longevity, stronger bones and muscles, improved sleep, enhanced mental capacity and much more.While we have addressed this before, we thought you could use some reminding as to how much physical act...

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Protecting the Leaders of Tomorrow

The leaders of tomorrow are suffering from unhealthy decisions that are being made today.  Over a 37 year time span (1971-2008), obesity among 2-19 year olds tripled in the United States (Ogden, 2010). Further, extreme obesity among children has become more common than in the past (Ogden, 2010). This epidemic is worth attention because obesity has been shown to contribute to insulin resistance, high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and depression (Steinberger, 2003; Hicken, 2013). These are all factors that could influence our children’s health and future. A major contributor to weight g...

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Subway or McDonald's--Which is Healthier?

I am sure you probably responded Subway. And why wouldn't you. That is probably the main message promoted any time you see an advertisement for their sub sandwiches. But is it really true? A recent study decided to assess if adolescents ages 12 to 21, purchased foods that had fewer total calories at a restaurant marketed as "healthy" compared to one of it's competitors. The "healthy" chain studied was Subway and the competitor, McDonald's. The 97 adolescents in the study purchased an average of 1,038 calories from McDonald's and 955 calories from Subway. The difference was not statistical...

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New Hope for Childhood Diabetes?

Over about the past decade, there has been an increased interest in vitamin D. It's role in bone health has been well established but it has also been suggested to play a role in a number of other diseases from cancer, to heart disease, to autoimmune diseases. It's relationship with diabetes is also being investigated as research has indicated that vitamin D may increase insulin sensitivity, play a role in insulin synthesis, and decrease inflammation. And it's importance isn't only being looked at in adults but in children as well. Recently, researchers from the University of Missouri wan...

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