‘Worrying’ sugar levels in cereals

Little effort appears to have been made to reduce sugar in children’s cereals nearly three years after a damning report, according to a report by consumer watchdog Which.

It said that although there had been some “positive progress” since it reported on the healthiness of breakfast cereals in 2006, sugar levels remained “shockingly high” and it was “particularly worrying” that so many high-sugar cereals were still being marketed to children.

A survey by the organisation of 100 cereals bought in January from the main supermarkets – excluding hot cereals and muesli – found a lower proportion of high-sugar cereals overall compared to 2006.

Speedo’s ‘Fastskin’ inventor nominated for top award

Fiona Fairhurst

On the 28th April, around 450 guests gathered at Prague Castle to see President of the European Patents Office Alison Brimelow and Heinz Zourek, Director General of the EC’s DG Enterprise, present the awards to outstanding inventors in four categories.

Among the three nominees in the Industry category was Fiona Fairhurst who was nominated for her work on the development of Speedo’s Fastskin high-tech Lazer swimsuit.

Fiona Fairhurst, formerly Product Manager Research and Development at Speedo, spent years developing the perfect swimsuit. Over the last decade, Speedo’s controversial “Fastskin” suit and advancements of that technology have turned heads and caused a few to be shaken, as the new “silver bullet” in professional swimming, leading to numerous world records and Olympic medals.

Children ‘not exercising enough’

Most children do not exercise enough to keep themselves healthy and prevent obesity, a government survey shows.

The finding is based on more than 260,000 people in England who responded to the Change4Life campaign poll.

Change4Life was launched in January to tackle soaring rates of obesity by promoting healthy eating and exercise.

Working to reignite cricketing passion

With Messrs Flintoff and Pietersen looking to pocket a cool £1million pounds each for playing six games in the Indian Premier League you might be forgiven for thinking that cricket’s future had never been rosier. However the picture at school level paints a very different and alarming picture.

Over the last decade the independent schools, long-term bedrock of schools cricket, with carefully laid pitches and the employment of former professionals as cricket coaches, have shortened fixture lists due to the increasing pressure to gain higher grades in GCSE and A-level examinations.

Dancing to fitness is a fiddle

Time to dust off that stetson, polish those boots and do-se-do down to the barn, or more likely the school hall, for some great fun and terrific exercise.

As an alternative to the school disco or parents evening fundraiser, barn dancing is sure to go down a storm with all age groups.

Even if you have no previous experience, you will soon be able to teach folk dances and authentic tunes from the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia that have been performed and enjoyed for over 350 years.

Traditional Barn Dances with Calls & Fiddling includes a DVD and two-CD package with everything instructors need to teach 53 dances to participants of all ages and abilities.

Price: £39.50 | €51.40
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Alternative games draw pupils to school sport

More children enjoy sports lessons than ever before now that schools teach cheerleading, skateboarding and country dancing alongside traditional games, school inspectors have found.

Ofsted’s study of PE lessons in 99 primary and 84 secondary schools between 2005 and 2008 discovered that children have become more keen to do sport because of the wide range of activities schools offer.

Healthy workers make healthy companies

Thoroughly updated with the latest research, this book makes a strong case for the formulation, introduction and implementation of health and fitness programmes in the workplace.

It provides an overview of contextual issues, including a history of the subject, current thinking, legal perspectives and the role of health policies within the workplace.

It also gives information on methods of assessment, measurement and evaluation (including health and productivity assessment tools), the economic benefits of health improvement programmes and the appropriate use of claims-based analysis and planning.

No walk on the wild side for today’s kids

Woodlands, countryside and parks have become out of bounds to a generation of ‘cotton wool kids’ with fewer than ten percent playing in such places, according to new research results revealed by Natural England.

In addition, less than a quarter of children said they visit a patch of nature near their home on a weekly basis, compared with over half of adults who visited a local nature patch weekly when they were young.

The survey was produced to mark the launch of Natural England’s ‘One Million Children Outdoors’ programme, which aims to encourage more children to visit places such as nature reserves and environmentally friendly farms.

How do energy drinks work?

Runners clutching bottles of energy drink are a common sight and it has long been known that sugary drinks and sweets can significantly improve athletes’ performance in endurance events. The question is how?

Obviously, ’sports’ drinks and tablets contain calories, but this alone is not enough to explain the boost or the fact that the benefits are felt even if the drink is spat out rather than swallowed.

Nor does the sugary taste solve the riddle, as artificial sweeteners do not boost performance even when they are indistinguishable from real sugars.

Learn yoga and learn to relax

Yoga is fast gaining popularity in gyms, schools and community programmes for one very good reason – it provides an antidote to our helter skelter, technology-based lifestyles, allowing us to dig deepe and learn more about ourselves and the world around us.

Teaching Yoga for Life: Preparing Children and Teens for Healthy, Balanced Living, allows instructors to employ a simple, safe and pragmatic method for yoga instruction even if they’ve never taught it before.

The clear, step-by-step directions and illustrations make it easy to present each of the activities, lessons and 52 poses included in the book.

Yoga helps cancer sufferers

A new study from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in the US has found yoga can halve symptoms of depression in women with breast cancer.

The study, published in the Journal of Psycho-Oncology investigated the effect of yoga on almost 50 women with breast cancer and women doing yoga classes were found to gain mental health benefits.

Half the women were given a ten-week programme of classes in Restorative Yoga, which uses cushions and blankets for physical support.

Bowling to fitness

The sport’s definitive work, from the game’s master instructor. Bowling Execution, covers every aspect of the sport, from developing skills to refining techniques for improved consistency.

Bowling Execution will show you how to improve each phase of your shot, from stance to follow-through, increase the accuracy of your hook and how to incorporate the free arm swing for smoother mechanics.

Exercise is Child’s Play

Unstructured, creative, and spontaneous physical activities that may be reminiscent of child-like play are beneficial, healthy activity options for adults, according to an expert at the American College of Sports Medicine

According to the report, the type of calorie-burning, mind-stimulating play that children often do shouldn’t be left behind as people age.

Tossing a Frisbee, tenpin bowling, dancing and rock climbing are great ways for adults to incorporate play into their exercise routines – dancing alone can burn up to 322 calories an hour for a 10 stone person.

But beyond the fitness advantages these fun-filled activities offer, they can also help with problem solving, improve brain function, spur creativity and innovation, alleviate stress, and improve social skills.

Develop effective physical activity programmes

Developing Effective Physical Activity Programs emphasises the move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to physical activity programmes.

It provides evidence-based recommendations for designing, implementing and evaluating more effective and appropriate physical activity programmes for women, overweight and obese populations, older adults and ethnically diverse populations.

The text includes summaries of current research studies examining physical activity interventions in various groups and settings. Key considerations are discussed for each category, including the elements that make up the most successful interventions, unique obstacles to participation and techniques for overcoming them.

Young women at risk of deadliest cancer

The deadliest form of skin cancer has now become the most common kind of cancer for women in their 20s – according to the latest figures from Cancer Research UK which has just launched its 2009 SunSmart campaign.

Almost every day of the year in the UK a woman between 20 and 29 is diagnosed with malignant melanoma – the potentially fatal form of skin cancer. In this age range there are twice as many cases of melanoma as there are of breast cancer.

Latest figures show around 340 women in their 20s were diagnosed with melanoma in a single year and for women in their thirties melanoma has risen to be the third most common cancer after breast and cervix.