Christine Sinatra, mom to a kindergartner attending an Austin Independent School District school, talks about how brain breaks and FitnessGram help to create a healthy learning environment for children. In this blog she asks parents to support her quest for keeping FitnessGram in Schools. ...
Read MoreAlthough video games are often viewed in a negative context, for possibly keeping kids from participating in physical activity, researchers from George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C., are finding that active video games may provide a new avenue for kids to participate in physical activity. Already many schools have begun to use interactive video games as part of their curriculum. ...
Read MoreThis blog recounts the story of how bike advocates pushed for the development of a Complete Streets Policy in Georgia. Interestingly, some officials working with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) were under the impression that a Complete Streets Policy was already in place. It took the efforts of bike advocates to create awareness that such a policy did not in fact exist. Soon GDOT created a task force to create a Complete Streets Policy and on September 20, 2012 the policy was enacted. ...
Read MoreA group of 75 teachers attended an in-service at Canyon Independent School District’s Gene Howe Elementary gymnasium to learn about bike safety. BikeTexas was invited by PE teacher Janet Sheen to train educators, using the SuperCyclist Curriculum 2.2 Teacher Master Page Series. This event allowed teachers from throughout the district to learn how they can encourage their students to bike to school using "6 simple steps." ...
Read MoreThree individuals discuss their support of legislation that would give elementary school students in New Jersey 20 minutes of recess a day, by law. ...
Read MoreThe Science behind Healthy Change in Communities How far along is a particular healthy change in a community? Where might you make a contribution? The answers can be found in the Salud America! Policy Contribution Spectrum, a science-based way to identify and describe the stages of policy development. The Spectrum helps pinpoint important activities that contribute to the process of policy development, from noticing there is a problem, to the passing of a policy, to monitoring a policy to make sure it does what it was created to do. ...
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Sugary drinks are a top source of calories in the American diet. This is troubling because the nation is struggling with an obesity epidemic. Given that Latinos especially suffer from higher rates of obesity than several other population groups, "The Real Bears," a recent animated short film that has generated more than 2 million views on YouTube, has now been converted into Spanish. “The Real Bears,” which tells the story of a family suffering the adverse health effects of soda, including obesity, tooth decay, and diabetes and its associated complications, including amputation and erectile dysfunction, is produced by nonprofit group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). It features an original song by Grammy-award-winning singer/songwriter Jason Mraz and ...
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Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, professor and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday, was recognized as a “First Lady” of the Intercultural Cancer Council, which promotes policies, programs and research to eliminate the unequal burden of cancer among racial/ethnic minorities and medically underserved populations. The council, based at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, chooses “First Lady” honorees for their long-term and outstanding achievements in health and science. Ramirez participated in a First Ladies award ceremony June 27, a day before the Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved and Health Equity in Houston, hosted by the council, the ...
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Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind Salud America!, has been elected to the board of directors for C-Change, a national organization that aims to leverage the expertise of leaders from government, business and nonprofit sectors of society to eliminate cancer as a major health problem as soon as possible. Founded in 1998, C-Change’s approaches cancer as a societal burden that everyone bears the responsibility for addressing. C-Change’s 150 members identify opportunities for collective action and apply the group’s unique strength—the collective expertise and resources of leaders from the three sectors of society—to accelerate action to end ...
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