May 30-June 2

Help your child have fun with Fitness!

According to the National Institutes of Health, children should work up to about one hour of physical activity a day. It is not necessary for children to exercise 1 hour straight. Six, 10-minute active play sessions work just as well. Or even 12, five minute sessions. T o make time for active play, set limits on TV watching, video games and other sedentary “screen” activities. You may also consider taking active breaks between inactive activities. For example, dance or run around during TV commercials. Remember, engaging in 30-60 minute physical activity sessions on most days can greatly improve your health and the health of your family.

Reminder: We only have a few more days left in our healthy competition don’t for get to record the time you spend on physical activity.

 May 22-26

Moving Yet?

This is a reminder!! We have 1.5 weeks left in our healthy competition don’t forget to log in the time you have spent on physical activity. For those of you who have not started don’t fret start today. Remember small changes in your activity level can yield big results. Here are some more tips to help you get moving:

• Upper body exercises.
• Walk, don’t drive, for trips less than a mile.
• Use the stairs, not the elevator.
• Take several 10-minute walks throughout the day.
• Walk during your lunch break.
• Take a few extra steps to return your grocery cart to the designated area.
• Plan active family vacations.
• Walk your dog…or your neighbor’s dog.
• Hide the remote! Instead, walk to the television to change the channel.

 May 15-19

Have you ever asked yourself “How can I do Physical Activity Every Day?

There are many wonderful ways to be physically active every day. By doing a variety of moderate intensity activities, such as gardening, jogging, riding your bicycle or waking you will find it fun and easy to incorporate physical activity into your daily life. Adults should do at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day, while children should do at lest 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Use the guide below to create you own weekly program.

• EVERYDAY - walk and be physically active
• 3 TO 5 DAYS A WEEK - give your heart and lungs a workout with aerobic activity
• 2 TO 3 DAYS PER WEEK - improve your flexibility and strengthen your muscles
• CUT DOWN - watching TV, surfing the Internet or sitting around

 May 1-5

 Download Physical Activity Record Sheet

Starting today and throughout the month of May we would like to encourage all HSA employees to get out and start moving! The Health Promotion staff invites you and your departments to join us once again in a healthy competition (see instructions below). All departments are welcome to participate. We will also continue sending weekly tips with ideas on how to increase physical activity at work and at home. Remember, regular physical activity performed for just 30 minutes on most days significantly reduces the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and obesity. Best off all it helps you feel and look your best!!

What to Do: Print physical activity record sheet (document attached with formulas for your convenience) or save to your desktop. Log in total minutes spent on physical activity per day then at the end of May tally up 5-week department totals.

Next: Fax your department totals (1st week in June) to the health promotion department at
209-558-7538 or email them to tpaul@schsa.org. Please note how many employees participated as well as your department name before sending in. Record sheets without this information will be disqualified. Department prizes will be awarded to those with highest physical activity totals during the month of May.

Getting Started: Start by setting aside time during lunch, during your breaks or at home after dinner. Remember it all adds up whether you choose to walk, garden, swim or dance. Get moving today!

What comes to mind when you think about air quality? Most people may not know that inside air can be as dirty as outside air. Poor air quality (indoors and out), pesticides, dust, mold, mildew, and cockroaches all contribute to raising cases of asthma in our area. At home you can take precautions to limit the amount of unclean air that your children breathe. Keeping homes clean is a great start! Cleanliness can prevent dust from blowing around, mold from growing, and will keep unwanted pests away. Also try to keep windows closed when possible. This will limit the amount of pollen and mold that can enter your home from the outside. It also lowers humidity levels, which helps to control mold and dust mites. These are a few simple things you can do to create a healthy air environment at home.

 April 17-21

Keeping your child safe is easier than you think. Safety is all about using your common sense. Safe Kids USA suggests that, “taking simple prevention measures and closely supervising your children can help protect them from common household hazards, such as fires, burns, drowning, suffocation, choking, firearm injury, poisoning and falls. A few easy, relatively inexpensive steps - locking household cleaning materials in a cabinet out of reach, installing carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms, blocking stairways with baby gates - can greatly reduce your child’s risk of injury in the home.” Remember children learn by example so be sure to practice what you preach.

 April 10-14

The California Center for Public Health Advocacy states that “nearly one third (28.1%) of California children surveyed were overweight in 2004,” which is why children in our area need to become more physically active. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children and adolescents participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week, preferably everyday. Encourage children to participate in a variety of activities including jump roping, walking/running, swimming, playing outside, and any other creative games that children like to play. Instead of watching a movie, go outside and play!

 April 3-7

Everyone always wants to know how to improve the lives of their children. Child Stats.gov studied indicators of positive behaviors. They noted that, “the participation of youth in positive activities and the formation of close attachments to family, school, and community have been linked to positive outcomes in research studies.” You can encourage your child by helping them to get involved in these types of activities. Playing outside, getting involved in various youth groups, sports, going to the library, and being involved in school clubs are all things that can create positive outcomes in children.

 February 27 - March 3

If you have osteoarthritis of the knee and are overweight, losing weight can have a big payoff. For every pound lost, there’s a four-pound reduction in the load exerted on the knee when you walk, according to a recent study in Arthritis & Rheumatism, which looked at overweight people with knee arthritis who lost weight via diet and/or low-impact exercise. Losing just 5 or 10 pounds could thus significantly improve knee mobility. Low-impact exercise is also beneficial because moving the joints stimulates cartilage to take up nutrients, and it makes muscles stronger, so they support joints better.

Want a quick assessment of your risk for heart disease? Get out the tape measure. Researchers at McMaster University found that the best predictor of cardiovascular disease is not BMI, the commonly used ratio of weight to height, but rather your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement. Anything over 0.85 for women and 0.9 for men indicates greater risk for heart disease.

 February 20 - 24

It's never too late for fresh starts!!!

Adherance to diet for one year, not the specific diet plan, is the most important determinant of weight loss and reduction of cardiovascular risk, according to the results of a randomized trial published in the Jan 5 issue of JAMA. When comparing Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets, the editorialist recommends the "Low Fad" approach.