Simple ways to get your kids to be physically active

Femina – Promita Mukherjee

Researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, have found that children with betterphysical fitness have a greater volume of grey matter that helps enhancetheir academic performance. According to them, physical fitness—especially cardio-respiratory fitness, speed-agility and muscular fitness—leads to the presence of more grey matter in the brain.According to the study published in the journal NeuroImage, an increase in grey matter boosts learning abilities, functioning and reading processes in kids.. Want your kids to be physically active? Try these simple ways: (more)

More than half of US children will have obesity as adults if current trends continue

Medical X-Press – Staff Writer

If current trends in child obesity continue, more than 57% of today’s children in the U.S. will have obesity at age 35, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study also found that excess weight in childhood is predictive of adult obesity, even among young children, and that only children currently at a healthy weight have less than a 50% chance of having obesity as adults. The findings were based on a rigorous simulation model that provides the most accurate predictions to date of obesity prevalence at various ages. (more)

Sedentary Schooling and the Effects on Learning and Physical Health

The Muse – Jacqueline Mills

The Lancet recently published a study which found the number of obese children and adolescents worldwide has increased ten-fold over the past 40 years. It is clear that some sort of intervention is necessary to counter this alarming trend. Although there have been changes in schools to accommodate such exceptionalities, such as having yoga balls in lieu of chairs in classrooms, the school day for elementary students is based largely on a model of sedentary learning. It is not just overweight children who require more movement throughout the school day, all children could benefit from more activity. Children are expected to sit and learn for 90-120 minutes at a time. Most schools throughout Canada are required to incorporate 20 minutes of daily physical activity into their curriculum. Twenty minutes of physical activity during the school day falls well short of the 60 minutes recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (more)

15 Tips to Boost Your Child’s Immunity

News 18 – Staff Writer

Nothing pains a parent more than seeing their child fall easy prey to infectious diseases. We all are aware of the importance of a balanced diet for children. Let’s find out other ways to supercharge your kid’s immunity:. (more)

Children ‘bombarded by junk food’ ads on family shows

BBC – Staff Writer

Children are seeing up to 12 adverts an hour for high-fat, high-sugar foods during primetime family TV programmes such as The Voice, research has found. Children were “bombarded” by adverts for pizza, burgers and biscuits, a team at Liverpool University found. Experts are demanding a 21:00 watershed on “junk-food” adverts, saying current guidelines are “failing children”. (more)