Fitness is Fun!
July 2005

Greetings from the office of the President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program! You have received the July 2005 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 program, activities of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) and other current information pertaining to health and fitness.

GOVERNMENT/PCPFS NEWS:

PCPFS News
The PCPFS Council members, Science Board, and staff are getting ready for 2006, the 50 year celebration of the creation of the PCPFS, originally known as President's Council on Youth Fitness. We encourage national, state, local, private and public organizations, industry, volunteer groups to join us in highlighting the benefits of a fit and active lifestyle and all of the great model programs at the grassroots level! If you'd like to find out more, please don't hesitate to call Chris Spain at the President's Council Physical Fitness and Sports 202-690-9000.

NASPE New Research Grant Program
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is launching its new Research Grant Program. This program will provide substantial funding for critical, applied-research issues that are related to NASPE's mission. These issues will have the potential for significant broad-based impact on the provision of quality physical education, physical activity, and youth/school sport programs. Funding of up to $30,000 will be awarded once every three years to NASPE members; the first grant will be awarded in January 2006. The topic of the 2006-2008 grant is Evidence-based Physical Education.

A letter of intent to submit (mini-proposal, 2500 word maximum) is due to the NASPE office by July 15. If invited to submit a full proposal, it will be due to the NASPE office by September 30. For more information, go to http://www.naspeinfo.org. If you have additional questions, please E-mail naspe@aahperd.org and include NASPE Research Grant Program in the subject line.

Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children
On June 9-10, the Mayo Clinic hosted the second Action on Obesity Summit in Rochester, MN. The summit featured experts in international, national, state, and local experts in physical activity, nutrition and health to discuss strategies and establish goals to combat the obesity epidemic. Among these experts were individuals from the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC). CLOCC's mission is to confront the childhood obesity epidemic by promoting healthy and active lifestyles for children throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. CLOCC operates under the belief that prevention efforts are likely to be more effective than treatment efforts, and that childhood obesity prevention efforts must be addressed at multiple levels, including individual, family, community, and society. The group facilitates working groups and events in a city that has twice the prevalence of childhood obesity. To learn more about what CLOCC is doing, please visit http://www.clocc.net/index.htm.

Atlanta, Georgia K-12 Physical Education Workshops
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) will be holding three one-day workshops for physical educators outside of Atlanta, Georgia, on July 14, 15 and 18, 2005. The workshops are on the topics of: Assessment in Elementary Physical Education, Assessment in Secondary Physical Education and Technology in K-12 Physical Education (heart rate monitors and pedometers). Each participant receives a comprehensive notebook filled with ideas and lesson examples from each workshop attended. Get all of the details and a registration form at http://www.naspeinfo.org. For more information, call 1-800-213-7193 ext. 411 or E-mail santle@aahperd.org

RESEARCH

New Physical Activity Recommendations
A 13-member panel of health leaders in the June issue of The Journal of Pediatrics concluded that America needs to make changes to ensure all school-age children get 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. According to the recently released article, "Evidence Based Physical Activity for School-Age Youth," the panel reviewed more than 850 articles and 1,200 abstracts to develop the recommendation that "school-age youth should participate daily in 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity that is developmentally appropriate, enjoyable and involves a variety of activities." The panelists said much of the needed activity could be achieved at school with appropriate physical education, recess, intramural sport and before- and after-school programs. The Divisions of Nutrition and Physical Activity and Adolescent and School Health of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends daily quality physical education from kindergarten through grade 12, convened the panel. To read the complete article, visit http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/jpeds.

SPOTLIGHTS:

Program Spotlight
Summer is the perfect time to take the President's Challenge! Are you already active more than 30 minutes per day, five days per week? Are you looking for some extra motivation to keep you going? If so, the Presidential Champions Program is for you! Register online at http://www.presidentschallenge.org/ and log your activities to earn points towards awards. You can log activities ranging from baseball and basketball to hang gliding and home repair. The goal is to see how many points you can earn by being active. Points are based on activity intensity and duration, so the more active you are, the more points you get. The Advanced Performance option is for individuals who are training at high levels and would generally log more than 750 points per day, which is the point cap for the Champions program. The only thing left to do is log on, sign up, and get moving!

REMINDERS:

2005 National Conference: Safe and Drug Free Schools
The Department of Education will hold the 2005 National Conference in Washington, D.C. on August 15-17. This conference will provide educational leaders with a valuable opportunity to explore these topics and receive information that can influence policy design and effective decision making. Conference topics will include crisis response and contingency planning, science-based programs, effective prevention strategies, and more. For information, visit http://www.osdfsnationalconference.org/.

Action for Healthy Kids Summit
The original Healthy Schools Summit in 2002 launched the national Action for Healthy Kids initiative, which has seen great success in just three years. On September 27-28, Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) will host a follow-up conference in Washington D.C. As in 2002, the Healthy Schools Summit 2005 will bring together leaders from the education, fitness, health and nutrition fields to address the burgeoning national crisis of overweight and obesity among school-aged children-continuing the momentum that has been building nationwide since the first Summit. To learn more, go to http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/special_summit.php.

Healthier US Prevention Summit
The 3^rd Annual Prevention Summit will be held on October 24-25, in Washington, D.C. The Summit will focus on chronic disease prevention and health promotion and will feature innovative prevention programs that are making a difference in communities across the country. These programs are focused on healthy lifestyle choices, including eating a nutritious diet, being physically active, avoiding high-risk behaviors, and getting preventive screenings to prevent the major health burdens created by obesity, diabetes, asthma, cancer, heart disease, and stroke. A special emphasis this year will be placed on health promotion and disease prevention for older Americans and on the use of health literacy and information technology to promote prevention. For more information, visit http://www.healthierus.gov/steps/summit.html.

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.

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Fitness is Fun! July 2005

Fitness is Fun!
July 2005