http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Given the implications for the overall health, development, and academic success of children, schools should play a primary role in ensuring that all students have opportunities to engage in at least 60 minutes per day of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Recent estimates suggest that only about half of school-age children meet this evidence-based guideline for promoting better health and development. The report recommends that most daily physical activity occur during regular school hours in physical education classes, recess or breaks, and classroom exercises, with additional opportunities available through active commutes to and from school, before- and after-school programs, and participation in intramural or varsity sports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-schools-opportunities-minutes-daily-physical.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 11:52:06 EST news288528720 Despite overwhelming evidence about the benefits of physical activity for children, most American youngsters are not meeting the federal recommendation of 60 minutes a day. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-ways-children-goals.html Health Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:43:47 EST news282401021 Although the long-term consequences of childhood obesity are well documented, some school districts have reduced physical education classes to devote more time to the 3 Rs in education—reading, writing, and arithmetic. However, there is new evidence that leaving out an important fourth R—aerobics—could actually be counterproductive for increasing test scores. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics studied the associations between aerobic fitness, body mass index (BMI), and passing scores on standardized math and reading tests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-arithmetic-aerobics-academic.html Pediatrics Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:03 EST news281211180 Elite female athletes often feel a sense of isolation and pressure to tackle personal and professional adversity on their own—even while struggling with issues such as bullying, eating disorders, depression and sexual abuse, according to research from the University of Alberta. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-female-athletes-adversity.html Health Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:40:01 EST news279797418 Even as policy makers and health experts point to an increased need for exercise, more than half of four-year colleges and universities in the United States have dropped physical education requirements compared to historic levels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-physical-requirement-year-universities-all-time.html Health Mon, 07 Jan 2013 08:19:54 EST news276769187 (HealthDay)—Recess in school serves a necessary and important role in the development of a child's academic, physical, and social well-being, according to an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement published online Dec. 31 in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-aap-emphasizes-importance-recess-schools.html Pediatrics Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:07:46 EST news276354460 Homophobia exists in many areas of life. It also seems to be particularly entrenched in sport, exercise and physical education (PE) settings of all kinds. But why is this the case? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-homophobia-sport-sporting-identity-authoritarian.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:50:01 EST news272622637 (Medical Xpress)—The medical costs of obesity for the current cohort of children and adolescents in Maine could reach an estimated $1.2 billion over the next 20 years, according to a new study by a University of Maine economist. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-combining-economics-childhood-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 05 Nov 2012 07:28:39 EST news271322910 The global fight against obesity could be helped by providing support for child's play, a researcher from The University of Western Australia has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-bigger-areas-kids-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 09 Oct 2012 07:32:55 EST news268986535 American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown issued the following comments on a unified fitness assessment program announced today by The President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition; the American Alliance for Health, Recreation, Physical Education and Dance; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the Cooper Institute: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-aha-school-aid-childhood-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 11 Sep 2012 06:15:56 EST news266562891 A 10-week program that fits easily into the high school curriculum could give students a lifetime of less anger and lower blood pressure, researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-lifeskills-teens-anger-blood-pressure.html Health Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:44:22 EST news266514255 Danielle Peers has lived the thrill and pressure, revelled in competition and brought home hardware from the Paralympic Games. But beneath the cheers, the University of Alberta researcher questions whether the Paralympic movement is as empowering as its benevolent image. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-paralympic-movement-freak-roots.html Health Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:40:00 EST news265477187 Preschoolers from low-income neighbourhoods and kids who spend more than two hours a day in front of a TV or video-game console have at least one thing in common: a thirst for sugary soda and juice, according to research from the University of Alberta. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-income-screen-affect-soda-junk.html Health Wed, 22 Aug 2012 12:17:40 EST news264856610 (Medical Xpress) -- Along with reading, writing and arithmetic, do you know if physical activity will be a big part of your child's school day? What about after school and on weekends -- is your child getting enough physical activity? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-physical-school-day-after-school.html Health Tue, 07 Aug 2012 07:20:02 EST news263541677 (HealthDay) -- Mandates for physical education in most of the United States fall short of the guidelines set forth by the National Association of Sport and Physical Education, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-johnny.html Health Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:03:57 EST news262544631 (HealthDay) -- Teens who play on three or more sports teams are much less likely to be overweight or obese than their peers who don't play a sport, new research finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-sports-kids-slimmer.html Pediatrics Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:10:01 EST news261678768 Children need quality physical education to combat obesity and lead healthy lives. Georgia elementary schools make the grade when it comes to providing that education, but middle and high schools in the state don't even come close, according to a University of Georgia study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-physical-mandates-states.html Health Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:21:57 EST news260796109 (HealthDay) -- Boosting students' levels of physical education improves their grades, a new, small study says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-physical-good-kids-grades.html Health Mon, 28 May 2012 03:55:51 EST news257396139 In this story writer Jenny Hall talks with Greg Wells about the relationship between type 2 diabetes and exercise. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-diabetes-symptoms.html Diabetes Mon, 14 May 2012 08:40:01 EST news256201698 Fifth graders in California public school districts that comply with the state’s mandatory physical education requirement are more likely to have better fitness levels than students in districts that don’t comply, according to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-students-physical-mandatory.html Pediatrics Wed, 02 May 2012 05:25:53 EST news255155129 Most people go through life setting goals for themselves. But what happens when a life-altering experience makes those goals become unachievable or even unhealthy? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-boost-quality-life.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:34:11 EST news254417633 The neighborhoods in which children and adolescents live and spend their time play a role in whether or not they eat a healthy diet, get enough exercise or become obese, concludes a collection of studies in a special theme issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-geographic-links-health.html Health Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:05 EST news253208541 Improving or maintaining physical fitness appears to help obese and overweight children reach a healthy weight, reports a new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Researchers analyzed four years of data from in-school fitness tests and body mass index (BMI) measurements of students in grades 1-7 in the city of Cambridge, Mass. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-in-school-overweight-boys-girls-benefit.html Overweight and Obesity Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:35:47 EST news252754267 State and school district-level policies mandating minimum requirements for in-school physical education and recess time are associated with increased odds of schools in those states and districts meeting physical activity recommendations for students, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-state-laws-mandating-pe-recess.html Health Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:40:18 EST news242325608 Adolescents sleeping more hours score higher on mathematics, while those who sleep between six and ten hours (ie. an average sleep pattern) got significantly better scores, as compared to those with a short (6 hours or less per night) or long (more than 9 hours per night) pattern sleep. Moreover, this difference is more prominent in physical education. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-adolescents-hours-score-higher-math.html Health Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:51:27 EST news238236678 We're not saying they're not out there, somewhere, blithely crushing pre-pubescent souls with their whistles and clipboards and flexed-arm-hang timers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-tweaked.html Health Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:20:03 EST news235387561 In an age of spiraling inactivity levels and escalating obesity rates across the planet, a new collection of research articles focused on participation in sport and physical activity across the lifespan has just been released. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-physical-sport-traverses-lifespan.html Health Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:39:55 EST news232976377 Increasing public awareness of the childhood obesity epidemic may be contributing to evidence of overall reductions in body mass index (BMI), a measure of obesity in children, according to the results of a nationwide study presented in Childhood Obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-positive-impact-awareness-obesity-epidemic.html Health Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:18:36 EST news232370293 (AP) -- Rural Mississippi is the country's fattest state for the seventh year in a row, according to an annual obesity report issued Thursday. Colorado, a playground for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, is the nation's thinnest. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-mississippi-scale-nation-fattest-state.html Health Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:05:04 EST news229277092 Despite a state requirement that public middle and high school students get 400 minutes of physical education every 10 days, approximately 1.3 million — more than a third (38 percent) of all adolescents enrolled in California public schools — do not participate in any school-based physical education classes, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-one-third-california-teens-school-physical.html Health Tue, 31 May 2011 16:15:49 EST news226077339