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<p align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="5" color="#0000FF">Eat
Well/Be Fit</font></b></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">It is hard to pick-up any newspaper or
magazine, today, and not read about the importance of physical fitness to
overall health, in combination with eating a balanced diet. Research is
showing that physical exercise is important at all ages, and helps reduce
preventative health risks. The heart and lungs are stronger and healthier;
bones are stronger; and illnesses are decreased. </font></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">What many people tend to forget are the
other positive rewards related to being physically fit. Increasing the
flow of oxygen to the body helps all the inner systems work more
efficiently and productively. The level of stress on an individual will
likely decrease with the addition of physical activities in a person�s
life. The brain also becomes a better functioning tool, allowing an
individual to process information more effectively and switch between
mental tasks. </font></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">There are 3 areas of focus for physical
fitness: cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, and muscular strength.
Cardiovascular has been the most prominently discussed area of development
in recent years. It involves participating in activities that benefit the
heart, lungs and blood vessels. These are the �fuel pump� for the body
and deliver oxygen and energy to all areas of the body. Activities that
include constant movement of the full body would benefit cardiovascular
development. </font></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">Flexibility refers to the range of motion in
a person�s joints. The majority of children have very flexible at a young
age, but begin to lose flexibility as they adapt to an American way of
life. To keep flexibility levels high, activities should include muscle
stretches in the neck, shoulder, upper torso, midsection, lower back,
front thigh, rear thigh, inner thigh, and lower leg. </font></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">The benefit of muscle stretches for
flexibility is that it assists with the development of muscular strength.
Muscles are the engine of the body, and serve as shock absorbers.
Resistance activities develop muscle strength overtime. </font></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">There are benefits to adding physical
activities at any stage of a person�s life, but what better time to start
than in early childhood, making it a regular habit of daily life! So,
what can adults with responsibilities for children do to help set the
children towards a long-term healthy lifestyle? Make sure physical
activity is a part of every child�s daily life. Understand the focus of
the various activities to make sure there is enough balance in activities
each day. </font></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">Physical Education is one of the important
ingredients. Children are taught specific skills at age-appropriate
levels. These specific skills build upon each other, and can be tracked
to insure that each child is creating a �portfolio� of lifelong skills.
Many injuries can be prevented when children are taught how to perform
skills in the correct format for his/her body. Sadly, the current
generation of children has far less time in physical education classes
than previous generations, and there is a correlation between the loss of
this time with increases in childhood obesity and preventable injuries.
Parents are encouraged to learn about the physical education curriculum,
and find ways to complement the objectives with other activities for a
balanced fit lifestyle. </font></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">Recess is the second component of physical
activity for children in school. This is one of the only times during the
school day that is child-directed, enabling children to develop skills in
organizing their own time, making self-directed choices, making decisions,
and learning to deal with conflict. Children will most often naturally
choose activities that benefit the three major areas of fitness, but that
ability decreases as children become dependent on adult direction. Moving
into a different environment and absorbing increased amounts of oxygen
help the children move back into the classroom and concentrate on
learning. Unfortunately, the amount of time available for recess has
decreased, or in some communities been eliminated, in an effort to provide
more classroom time to meet federal and state objectives. </font></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">Many families have chosen to supplement the
loss of time in physical education classes and recess with participation
in youth sports programs. The goals of youth sports programs differ from
physical education, so the benefits of each individual program should be
understood so that other activities can be added to insure that the three
major areas of physical fitness benefit. How does a child benefit from
aerobic sports, such as swimming, basketball and soccer? In comparison,
how does a child benefit from the �stop and go� sports of football and
baseball? How much time is spent in activity, in comparison to
non-activity, which might include times of instruction, waiting in line,
sitting on the bench, or traveling to the sport? What efforts are made by
families and sports organizations to decrease sports-related injuries? A
practice session with a balance of activities related to the three major
areas of physical fitness can often benefit an individual child, in
collaboration with time spent playing a game in his/her favorite sports.
</font></p>
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<font face="Verdana" size="2">With age-appropriate opportunities, most
children will become physically fit adults naturally, without the efforts
that many adults need to undertake to start a program later in life.
</font></p>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana">The Eat Well/Be Fit
Needham Committee is composed of concerned professionals consisting of the
Needham Board of Health, Needham Public Schools, Needham Park and
Recreation Commission, Physicians, Nutritionists, TRIAD, Health and
Fitness Writer, Needham Physical Therapy, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital -
Needham, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and others.</span></p>
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