What's the best way for kids to meet physical activity guidelines? Running? Jumping? Sports? Active video games? A new list, the Youth Compendium of Physical Activities, is now out in Spanish and English to shed light on 196 youth physical activities and the estimated energy expenditure for each. This exploration of youth activity—from running to soccer to cycling to Wii Sports—offers parents, teachers, coaches, healthcare workers, and researchers better insight into which physical activities contribute to a healthier lifestyle, thanks to the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR). "It can be used by a wide variety of people—from researchers and health care professionals to teachers, coaches, and fitness professionals—and in a variety of ...
Researchers are worried about COVID-19 transmission from asymptomatic smokers and vapers to others in their household via secondhand and thirdhand smoke and aerosol. Let’s explore what this means.
Why Are Researchers Concerned about COVID-19 and Smoking?
Smokers are already at risk of more severe cases of coronavirus. But even in the homes of asymptomatic but infected smokers and vapers, coronaviruses can attach to secondhand smoke and secondhand aerosol particles and droplets. These viral secondhand exhalations, coughs, and sneezes can travel up to 27 feet, land on surfaces, survive for hours, and may increase transmission of COVID-19 to older and younger non-smokers in the home, according to researchers in Environmental Science and Technology. The risk remains even up to ...
How is your neighbor doing during the coronavirus pandemic? In the Boston area, Anna Kaplan, Jessie Norriss, Sophia Grogan, Miriam Priven, Hannah Freedman, and other neighbors saw their neighbors lose jobs, with no money for bills or groceries. They saw college students and non-English speakers get no support. They each wanted to help their neighbors. So, together, they helped create Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville (MAMAS), an on-the-fly mix of multilingual online documents, Google maps, social media, and text-message threads where neighbors can offer to help, and/or ask for help with grocery deliveries, filing for unemployment, emotional support, and more. Since March 12, 2020, MAMAS has connected over 1,000 neighbors to each other and raised over $90,000 to meet ...
Food stamps began in America during another national crisis, the Great Depression — now, during the coronavirus pandemic, government programs are advocating for expansion. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) received a big increase in federal support from the USDA on Wednesday. Moreover, a recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson’s Healthy Eating Research program shows that this kind of investment only helps families and the American economy. “In a time of economic uncertainty, increasing SNAP benefits is a proven policy approach to stimulate the economy, reduce economic hardship, and improve health,” the report states. “Future federal recovery policy approaches should consider SNAP’s proven ability to lift people out of poverty, purchase healthy food, ...
Recent polling on coronavirus-related unemployment is illuminating alarming statics — mainly, Latinos are bearing the burden of the economic tidal wave impacting the U.S. Nearly 65% of Latino respondents reported losing jobs, experiencing monetary struggles, or know someone who has, according to a recent poll from SOMOS Community Care and Latino Decisions. Latinos already experience high levels of coronavirus negative impact, exposure, and death. "There's a large part of the Latino community that exists on the edges of American society,” Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro told Newsweek. “This pandemic has shown the consequences of some of the inequities in our system.”
What does the Poll Report?
SOMOS—a New York-based network of physicians serves low-income, minority, and ...
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff announced the addition of Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, to the COVID-19 Health Transition Team, which is working on a plan to slowly reopen the city economy after physical distancing. Nirenberg and Wolff wrote a joint memo that stay-at-home rules have saved lives. Yet they acknowledge physical distancing isn't permanent. "Our community needs a local strategy to reenter into everyday life," Nirenberg and Wolff wrote. "These decisions have critical implications on our community – including our ability to avoid subsequent outbreaks, ensure we protect our ... populations ... and to identify parameters for transitioning ...
Latino teens are more worried than their peers that they won't be able to keep up with school work or extracurricular activities amid coronavirus, says a new survey by Common Sense and SurveyMonkey. 70% of Latino teens fear falling behind in homework. 62% of Latino teens fear lagging in activities like band and sports. These are far higher percentages of worry about online, distance learning than their white (49% and 53%), black (66% and 54%), and other (40% and 50%) peers. How "real" is this teen angst?
Many Teens Are Not Connecting with Teachers During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Coronavirus has shut down schools and fueled the rise of online, distance learning. But not all teen students regularly communicate with their teachers. One in four teens connect with teachers ...
The current novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is a respiratory illness — that means it harms the lungs more than other parts of the body. Many scientists say that COVID-19 feature pneumonia and affects the lung function, and is especially worrisome for those with weak lung or immune systems. Worse, many experts believe that if you smoke, or you're regularly around secondhand smoke, you may have a better chance of getting coronavirus. Smoking may also increase your risk of developing severe complications from the virus. "The lining of the respiratory tree becomes injured, causing inflammation," Dr. John Wilson, president-elect of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a respiratory physician, told The Guardian. "This, in turn, irritates the nerves in the lining of the ...
Randy LoBasso is pushing to make bicycling safer and more equitable in Philadelphia. But, as COVID-19 shut down businesses and schools, the bike-as-transportation enthusiast found people crowding local bike trails and making it hard to practice social/physical distancing. LoBasso had a thought. What if Philadelphia (15% Latino) closed streets to car traffic? Could people use streets to freely bike, walk, and be physically activity while also maintaining six-feet distance? LoBasso led an “open streets” petition and got the city to close a major street to cars, and open it for people walking, biking, and rolling. And he’s not stopping there.
LoBasso Understands Need for Biking as a Means of Transportation, Access to Opportunity
LoBasso isn’t a spandex-wearing ...
