General Health & Safety

Reducing your child's screen time in front of televisions and computers is one of the easiest ways to improve your family's health.  Here are  eight simple ways to limit screen time to help crank up your kids' energy, re-charge their minds, and improve their health.

New research in adolescents demonstrates that a protein-rich breakfast, containing eggs, improves appetite control and additional research shows that a higher protein diet may help obese adolescents manage weight.

The PPE Campaign and Coalition for Youth Sports Health and Safety will promote the widespread adoption and consistent use of an updated preparticipation physical evaluation (PPE) form for U.S. student-athletes. The coalition counts as founding partners leading medical organizations, sports governing bodies and other groups, including MomsTeam.

On May 10, 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama joined Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes and members of the Childhood Obesity Task Force to unveil the Task Force action plan.  The ambitious goal of the plan: reduce childhood obesity to 5%, which was the rate before childhood obesity first began to rise in the late 1970s.

Because the growth plates at the end of the major bones in a child's arms and legs are open, their muscles and bones are still developing, and because their hormone levels aren't the same as adults, intense strength or resistance training for youth athletes is inappropriate before skeletal maturity.

A common saying in the cycling world is "It's not if you're going to crash, but when." Crashing is just part of cycling. Experience, skill and some luck can certainly help cyclists avoid crashes, but at some point, if you're riding your bike, you're going to crash. And when you do you are going to get road rash, abrasions from falling off your bike and making contact with the pavement or some other surface.

Stretching exercises maintains good shoulder flexibility and reduce the risk of rotator cuff and other injuries to baseball pitchers and other throwing athletes (football quarterbacks, javelin throwers).  Without a stretching program, athletes tend to develop muscle imbalances over the course of a season, exposing the athlete to increased risk of injury.

Spring has sprung, and bike riding season is in full swing. Celebrate National Bike Month (May) by learning how to enjoy this great, low-impact way for you and your kids to stay active and get around, without the risk of injury.

The first national, comprehensive plan to support and encourage physical activity among all Americans has been announced. A wide range of public policy recommendations across eight broad sectors, the National Physical Activity Plan is the product of a ten-month, public/private collaboration of experts in diverse fields. It goes well beyond just telling people to exercise to recommend policies, programs and initiatives that will change  communities in ways that enable all Americans to be physically active, and is, in part, an answer to America's alarming rates of adult and childhood obesity and decreasing levels of physical activity.