The
U.S. Department of Health has these tips
for Getting F.I.T.T., Looking Good and Feeling
Fine
Frequency: Get
active at least five times a week.
Intensity: Get
your body revved up and your heart pumping.
Time: Spend at
least 60 minutes doing a variety of activities.
Type: Do a variety
of activities that work your body and fit your
style; and, have some fun while you're at it!
Check out BAM!
Body and Mind to learn more!
If you're really ready to get moving, take the President's
Challenge. This program that encourages
all Americans to make being active part of their
everyday lives. No matter what your activity
and fitness level, the President's Challenge
can help motivate you to improve. Feeling good
is easy, once you get moving! Visit Get
Active Stay Active to build a fitness journal
and earn awards and prizes. Once you get those
muscles working, you might want to get to know
them better. Click here for a poster you can
download to learn the names of those Marvelous
Muscles!
Eat Like a Champion
It is expected that six thousand meals will be
served every hour at the Athens Olympic Village!
Workers will plan and prepare special meals
for athletes using the same recipes and foods
they would eat in their home countries. All
athletes need good nutrition for peak performance.
Dr. Louise Burke of Australia has some suggested diets
for athletes for peak performance.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture created
the Food
Guide Pyramid to help you choose foods
that will give you the strength and energy to
do your best!
Another way to make smart food choices is to
read the Nutrition
Facts on the labels of canned and packaged
foods. Check out what three fifth graders
from San Diego, California, Anthony, Nick and
Kris, and their teacher, Mrs. Woodfill, learned
about Nutrition
for Kids, or visit the Nutrition Café for
fun & games.
 Introducing
Pyramid Pal, the Nutritional Champion of Kids!
Pyramid Pal is a 7-book set of easy-reader children's
books that present the eating recommendations
of the USDA Pyramid in a simple storybook rhyming
format. Educational yet entertaining to read,
the books are written to help children learn
and adopt healthier eating patterns at an early
age. Pyramid Pal takes the reader on a nutritional
adventure through each of the food groups. The
books are authored by Susan Dawson and Susan
Norton, illustrated by Mark O'Hare, and available
through Griffin
Publishing.
Teachers: If you use the Pyramid Pal series
in your classroom click
here for lesson plans (340k .pdf document).
Don't Worry - Be Happy!
Stress is part of everyday living and it can
affect our physical and mental well being.
But don't get stressed out about it! There
are lots of ways to reduce stress. You might
know that regular exercise raises levels of
stress reducing endorphins in
the body, but did you know that a good laugh
can do the same thing? Researchers at the University
of California have learned that laughter,
or even just looking forward to a funny event,
increases the production of stress relieving
endorphins and decreases levels of stress hormones
in the body. Click here to
learn more about "Laughing Out Loud to
Good Health." Having someone to talk to
about problems with reduces stress too. Talking
with parents, teachers and friends can
help you cope when life has you "stressed
out." Kids and adults worry about a lot
of the same things. Visit Your
Life to learn more about how to deal with
some common problems.
Teachers: check out
these links for some healthy reading and lesson
plans:
It's Up to You!
Your parents are two of the many factors that
influence who you are. But while heredity may
determine the body you start out with, the
choices you make along the way play a big role
in maintaining your body's ability to repair
itself and fight disease. Caring for your body
is a great investment - in you! Sometimes
the things you don't do can have
as powerful an affect on your health as the
things you do. Athletes know
that in order to perform their best they must
avoid substances that harm the body. Click
on these links to learn how the use of alcohol, tobacco and
other drugs can
seriously affect your health and other areas
of your life. |
Now
that you know what "healthy bodies" are all about,
test your knowledge!