Healthy hearts is the theme for this month, and nothing could be timelier. As we head into the New Year, perhaps with some new resolutions, maintaining or developing good heart health should be right up at the top of the list. But as we all know, it isn’t easy.

For adults, it can be very difficult to squeeze in an aerobic workout before or after work, especially when the easy chair and the television seem to call your name after a long, hard day. For your students, some of them may also have work demands as well as school demands, which undoubtedly consumes much of their time. For them, their downtime activities of video games and sleeping in late on the weekends may sound much more appealing than hitting the gym or going for a run.

The good news is that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in "Health, United States, 2004," the health of the Nation is continuing to improve, in large part due to the resources spent on research, health education, and health care. In fact, the United States spends more per capita than any other country on health, with the result being that over the last 50 years there has been an overall decline in heart disease. This is thought to be due in large part to public education campaigns emphasizing a healthy lifestyle, as well an increased use of cholesterol-lowering medications.

And yet, there is a downside - and this is a real concern. There is a rising prevalence of adolescents and adults who are not engaging in the recommended amounts of physical activity. Also, there has been no improvement in the numbers of obese and overweight children and adults, and when paired with physical inactivity, these indicators translate to future concerns for chronic diseases including heart disease and diabetes.

Physical education and health educators are in the unique position of making a truly positive impact on the health and well being of their students and their colleagues by being advocates for a regular and sustained physical education program, by teaching and sharing current information on health and fitness strategies and trends, and by being role models of a healthy lifestyle.

Perhaps the equation that physical education and health educators can help each of their students and colleagues to determine, on an individualized level, is:

Knowledge + Motivation + Action = Heart Health

The key of course, is in finding the relevant variables for each person so that they may feel confident in achieving their own personal goal of a healthy heart.

Andrea Wallis Petho
Health & Fitness Section Editor

The Sportsmanship Olympic Games

The focus of this month's review is on sportsmanship and character building. In the Project ACES Handbook, Len Saunders presents an activity called "The Sportsmanship Olympic Games." This activity can involve all grades, and be a school wide event. The author suggests having the games resemble as much as possible the 'real' Winter or Summer Olympics.

To closer resemble the Olympics, the author gives an example of the opening ceremonies. He mentions that these ceremonies can be assigned to one grade level, and incorporate a flag march, histories of the countries, and the national anthem of the host country. In reading his example, I thought that it was a wonderful way of highlighting social studies in a physical education event.

The purpose of these Olympic Games is to promote teamwork, effort, and sportsmanship; the author offers an idea of how to implement this activity. Saunders suggests dividing classes into different countries, and throughout the games each country will work as a team to earn points. He also mentions how other academic teachers can get involved with this activity.

This chapter offers sample letters, and other materials that can provide some assistance in carrying out a successful implementation.

As we know, healthy hearts require regular physical activity in order to function well. Here are some of the benefits of regular physical activity for the entire body as listed by the Mayo Clinic. Note that benefits to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems are the first on the list:

1.	Strengthen your cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
	When you exercise regularly, your entire cardiovascular system benefits because exercise:
		Lowers the buildup of plaques in arteries by increasing the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol - the "good" cholesterol - and decreasing the concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol - the "bad" cholesterol in your blood.
		Prevents the onset of high blood pressure if you're at increased risk of developing it.
		Lowers your blood pressure if you already have high blood pressure.
2.	Keep bones and muscles strong.
3.	Manage weight.
4.	Prevent and manage diabetes.
5.	Ease depression and manage pain and stress.
6.	Reduce risk of certain types of cancer.
7.	Sleep better.

Soft Drink Sales at Schools - Students will: Determine how many teaspoons of refined sugars are contained in soda, estimate the aerobic physical activity needed to burn off the calories in one soda, research data related to the consumption of soft drinks and obesity, and formulate and defend a position on whether school districts should partner with the soft drink industry to promote soda sales at school.

Motivating youth to get more exercise - There are 6 objectives, but only 3 will be listed here, which are: Infer why the number of overweight youth in the United States is increasing. Research and discuss the long-term health risks of being overweight. Conclude why physical activity levels drop off from childhood to adolescence. Read the rest...

Exercise Your Heart - This lesson looks at how exercise benefits the heart and other muscles. It includes a self-assessment of a student's exercise lifestyle.

A "Heart"-y look at diet: Students will examine how the heart works, and how diet can contribute to blockage of the coronary arteries and heart attacks. They will evaluate their own diets with regard to heart health.

Changing lifestyle and heart health - Purpose: To examine and evaluate changes in diet and lifestyle from prehistoric to modern times, and how these differences have spurred the development (and better treatment) of heart disease.

There sure is a plethora of information out there. The Internet is an ideal forum for researching health topics. Websites such as these can give you and your students a base of knowledge on which to draw from when planning their health and fitness goals:

	The American Heart Association
	The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
	The National Institutes of Health
	The World Health Organization
	Healthfinder (from the US Department of Health and Human Services)
	National Library of Medicine
	Food and Nutrition Education Center
	Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
	Just move (American Heart Association fitness site)
	American Diabetes Association
	The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
	The President’s Physical Fitness Challenge

It’s also a good idea for those interested in promoting and achieving heart health to determine their own personal risk factors. To help assess those factors, consider engaging your students (and colleagues!) in the following activity:

For years researchers have been analyzing the association between stress and heart disease. And while the jury is still out on whether stress is a primary factor for heart disease, stress can most certainly be attributed towards exacerbating an already existing heart condition. Additionally, those who are chronically stressed may forgo healthy habits such as good eating habits and regular exercise, which can have a significant and negative impact on the heart.

Here’s a lesson plan to assist your students in gaining a better understanding of the stressors in their own lives and how to cope with its effects:

Striking Out Stress: A “Gallery Walk” Activity
grades 6 - 12

• Identify situations that cause feelings of stress.
• Determine and discuss positive/healthy ways to cope with stressful situations.

Keywords: stress, holidays, body, psychology, guidance, mental, health, cope, coping

• 6 sheets of poster board (or chart paper)
• 6 crayons or magic markers
• Adhesive tape
• CD or audio tape player and a selection of lively music
• Chalk

Lesson Plan:

Discuss with students the definition of stress. Write students’ thoughts on a chalkboard or chart as they express them. After a brief period of sharing, review with students the ideas they have offered.

Emphasize that stress can cause powerful feelings, as well as biological changes in the body. Allow students to brainstorm some feelings and biological changes that stress can cause, including its impact on the cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological and muscular systems. Write their responses on a board or chart.

Students’ responses may include ideas related to the "fight or flight" theory of stress response. If not, introduce this theory. You will find useful resources on the Internet, including the following: Gender Differences in Behavioral Responses to Stress & The fascinating history of stress theory.

Next, arrange students into six groups. Position each group in an area of the classroom, and tape a sheet of poster board to the wall by each group. Each poster should feature one of the headings below:

• Situations that Make Me Angry
• Situations that Make Me Frustrated
• Situations that Make Me Worry
• Situations that Make Me Happy
• Situations that Take a Lot of Time
• Situations that Take Money

Tell each group they have 1-2 minutes to write down their responses to the situation on the poster in front of them. You might play music (something lively) while the students are engaged in the activity.

When the designated time is up, have students move to the poster to their right. Allow two more minutes to respond to the situation at the top of the poster that is now in front of them.

Continue rotating until each group has had a chance to write their responses to the situations on all six posters. Then have a spokesperson from each group read the responses on the poster in front of them. Discuss similarities, insights, or perceptions related to the ideas listed. Talk about which responses are positive stressors and which are negative stressors.

Have students return to their seats. As a class, brainstorm appropriate and healthy strategies to cope with the stressful situations they wrote about. Students should take notes on those strategies. (You might provide a handout with the six headings and room for notes beneath each).

Assessment:

After the activity and discussion, quiz students about appropriate strategies for dealing with stress. You might pose specific situations and have students suggest appropriate responses. Alternatively, students might role-play appropriate responses to stressful situations.

Motivation is probably the toughest variable in the equation because it is so, well, variable. The dictionary defines motivation as "that which gives purpose and direction to behavior." (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary). Some people may feel motivated to exercise and eat a nutritionally sound diet because they just want to live longer and healthier for themselves and their family. Others, such as athletes, may be motivated due to their competitive drive to win. For many, the motivation to exercise and eat well may be based on a desire to lose weight. But, as noted in the "Health, United States, 2004" report, clearly, that isn’t working.

Too often we may think that suddenly we’ll “feel motivated” to tackle our ever-growing waistline or lack of exercise. But waiting for that burst of inspiration to occur is just not realistic - it isn’t likely that one day we’ll wake up and get the urge to exercise. Motivation, and sustaining that motivation, must be created from within. So, how do we help our students get there?

"Don't be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try." - Michael Jordan

First, help them set realistic goals. Sure, it’s great to want to lose 30 pounds and to run a mile every day, but initial or intermediate goals of 5 pounds at a time, and a quarter mile a day may be more geared to their current fitness level. Once your students’ meet their initial and intermediate targets, their goals can be incrementally adjusted to fit their personal diet and exercise needs.

Second, help them find a way to achieve their goals. Do your students have the necessary knowledge to determine appropriate and healthy diet and exercise plans? Do they have parental support? Do they need medical clearance? Do they have access to exercise equipment or a track? Do they have the means to track their diet and exercise progress? Helping to facilitate the actual implementation of their diet and exercise needs can make it that much easier for your students to actually engage in, and take ownership of their own health!

Third, celebrate their successes! Let’s face it, maintaining a diet and exercise plan is tough. Little celebrations along the way can make it that much easier. Have the students brainstorm for what rewards they might receive for when they reach their personal goals, but a note of congratulations or even a certificate of achievement can go a long ways towards keeping your students on track.

"Doing your best is more important than being the best." - Shannon Miller, gold medal Olympic gymnast

Other pointers to keep in mind:

	Flexibility. Sometimes, life gets in the way of our goals and a little leeway is an ok thing. Something unexpected pops up, tiredness, or illness intercedes with fitness goals. And periodically, that can be ok, as long as your students can be encouraged to get back on track. This will teach them that not only is their fitness important, but life’s bumps in the road should not derail their overall goals.
	Fun. Definitely have fun. Exercise should not be a bore. Mixing up and changing routines is a great way to promote interest in working out, as well as exposing your students to new forms of exercise.
	Lifelong wellness. Lifelong health and wellness starts now - while our students are still open and educable to these concepts. By providing and promoting opportunities for learning about what good health and wellness are, and then integrating those opportunities into action, we can all make a difference in the lives of our students - now, and in the years to come.

Sure, you know how to steal hearts, win hearts, and break hearts. But how much do you really know about your heart and how it works? Read on to your heart's content!