Part One: Parents and Teachers Weigh In An overwhelming majority of parents and teachers want health and physical education to be a mandatory part of the school day, according to a KidsHealth online survey taken by 1,173 parents and K-12 educators. The problem is that a significant number of schools don’t offer health classes. And many schools that do have…
Fit Interactive astonished the fitness industry with its emergence in 2008, the first truly interactive fitness equipment on the market. The technology infuses proven training principles with entertaining exercise platforms. Invented and endorsed by fitness experts, trainers around the world agree this equipment provides the perfect tool for engaging clients of all ages. The 3Kick, HeavyBall, and JumpQ, enhance speed,…
Children are choosing to play digital games for hours during their leisure time. On an average day, children as young as eight spend as many hours engaged in media activity as they spend in school; three-quarters of American children play computer and video games. Despite their reputation as promoters of violence and mayhem, digital games have in fact been shown…
Each kid is unique. Some like to exercise, while some are reluctant to participate at all. They feel uncomfortable when exercising with kids that are either taller, stronger, and in a different age group as them. As parents, educators, and fitness professionals, we know the ultimate goal is for kids to be fit and have fun. To prevent children…
HUNTINGTON — “It’s awesome — really cool and you get an awesome workout.” That’s how 8-year-old Ryan Woodward, a student at Our Lady of Fatima School, described the new fitness equipment designed just for kids at the Huntington YMCA. The Y, along with Cabell Huntington Hospital, St. Mary’s Medical Center, Marshall’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and Cabell County…
Where will the fitness industry be in 20 years? Will people still walk inside the doors of a building to run on a treadmill, take a group cycling class or participate in small group training? Or will the industry look much different with programs outside of clubs? Will the Exercise is Medicine campaign take off to the point where every…
Balance is an essential component of movement and is critical in the ability to participate in physical activity. Developing an exergaming curriculum for schools has the potential to improve balance or postural stability in children. In this study, a purposely-built exergaming center in an elementary school was used to test fourth grade students with a specially designed exergaming curriculum oriented…
Exerfit Family Fitness, located in Baton Rouge, La. offers fun and dynamic exercise programs designed for each family member. Their focus is to provide a well-rounded motivating experience that encourages, challenges and ultimately develops the physical, social and developmental person. Last spring, they knew that in order to excite and move kids they needed to find new and unique interactive…
Exercise turns brains on and improves the ability to think, learn, and perform, says John J. Ratey, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. But in this ever-changing world of technology, kids are not moving. Parents and educators want kids to succeed academically in schools, but it’s no good when their brains are turned off. With the downward…
Early Wednesday morning, a big smile covered 12-year-old Ahmed Mohamed’s face as he yelled, “this is fun!” On its own, that statement may not be much of a surprise. That is, at least, until you consider this: Ahmed was having a blast… at school. “I be like, yeah, I’m going to come to school every day,” he continued from inside the “exergaming lab” at theAnne Sullivan School in Minneapolis. As Ahmed’s teacher, Amy Strickland Johnson,…
When your town has one of the highest childhood obesity ratings in the country, what do you do? You get moving…and so do those kids! This is a story of a small town, and two hospital’s and a YMCA all on the same mission. Success Stories: Huntington YMCA, Huntington West Virginia In August of 2008, the CDC released a report…
Sometimes reputations are deserved. Sometimes reputations can disguise what’s really happening in an organization. In this case, we’re talking about a school that has been burdened with the reputation of a significant portion of its students being difficult to manage and, thus, difficult to educate. In this case,the data actually legitimizes the reputation. With regard to the school being referenced,…
