To participate, you can:

–Find out more about HCF by going to www.healthycentralflorida.org

–Look for fun and healthy activities for you, your family and friends at www.findfactivefun.org  developed by HCF

–Commit to and encourage others to take the 3:30:3 pledge, (be active 3 times a week for 30 minutes a day for the next 3 months)

–Text the word Healthy to 464329 to get connected to HCF and to receive updates, invitations and resources for leading healthy changes

Join us!

 ”You don’t have to be the fittest person who is exercising every day to receive the feel-good benefits of exercise,” said David Conroy, professor of kinesiology. “It’s a matter of taking it one day at a time, of trying to get your activity in, and then there’s this feel-good reward afterwards.”

“Taking it one day at a time and savoring that feel-good effect at the end of the day might be one step to break it down and get those daily rewards for activity,” he said. Doing this could help people be a little more encouraged to stay active and keep up the program they started.”

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The study in this month’s Health Affairs found that when servers asked customers whether they’d like to “downsize” starchy side dishes at a Chinese fast-food restaurant as many as a third gladly cut back, saving an average of 200 calories each meal.

“Our goal was to test whether the invitation to downsize a meal component would be embraced by consumers and, importantly, whether the approach would be more effective than a purely information-based approach — in this case, calorie labeling,” says Schwartz.

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“The enormity of this public health problem goes well beyond these tragic numbers as studies have shown that the children of parents with untreated alcohol disorders are at far greater risk for developing alcohol and other problems later in their lives,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde.

“SAMHSA and others are promoting programs that can help those with alcohol disorders find recovery – not only for themselves, but for the sake of their children.

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Other key issues include the rise of eating issues and disorders–many among kids; prenatal surgery—helping babies before birth, and mobile health apps—how to choose wisely.

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The new service enables Facebook users to report a suicidal comment they see posted by a friend to Facebook using either the “Report Suicidal Content” link or the report links found throughout the site. The person who posted the suicidal comment will then immediately receive an e-mail from Facebook encouraging them to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or to click on a link to begin a confidential chat session with a crisis worker.

Click here to learn more.

The study shows toddlers between two and a half and three years old who miss only a single daily nap show more anxiety, less joy and interest and a poorer understanding of how to solve problems, said CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Monique LeBourgeois, who led the study. 

“Many young children today are not getting enough sleep, and for toddlers, daytime naps are one way of making sure their ‘sleep tanks’ are set to full each day,” she said.

“This study shows insufficient sleep in the form of missing a nap taxes the way toddlers express different feelings, and, over time, may shape their developing emotional brains and put them at risk for lifelong, mood-related problems.”

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This is a six-week program to become tobacco-free and includes nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) patches at no cost. Registration is required. Class sizes are limited. To register, please call 1-877-252-6094.

Classes will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 10 – Feb. 14, 2012 at 832 W. Central Blvd., 4th Floor, Lilac Room, Orlando, FL 32805.

But the experts at www.kidshealth.org, a website created by the Nemours Foundation’s Center for Children’s Health Media, offer a series of suggestions to help parents combat materialism in their kids.

They suggest parents teach children to question marketing messages and the unrealistic expectations they foster, focus on family traditions, teach kids to give of themselves, give gifts with meaning and serve as good holiday role models.

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A nationally representative sample of more than 2,600 men and women, ages 18-85, found that 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a week, which is the national guideline, provided a 65 percent improvement in sleep quality. People also said they felt less sleepy during the day, compared to those with less physical activity.

The study, out in the December issue of the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity, lends more evidence to mounting research showing the importance of exercise to a number of health factors. Among adults in the United States, about 35 to 40 percent of the population has problems with falling asleep or with daytime sleepiness.

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