Tips to Health And Fitness For Kids

Today more than ever it is harder to maintain a healthy lifestyle with sedentary pastimes such as watching television, playing video games and surfing the Internet competing for our kid’s time and replacing more physical activities.

Combined with the easy availability and low cost of unhealthy processed foods or ‘junk food’, then this can have an impact on children’s health, not only throughout their childhood but leading into adulthood causing serious health problems at a later date.

It is therefore important to make a concerted effort to ensure children lead a healthy lifestyle and maintain overall fitness. However it can be difficult to make a start and to inspire your kids to follow your lead, so we have compiled a list of ten tips to help you along the road to health and happiness.

1) Involve the Whole Family – Sometimes kids can be reluctant to take part in sports and games, especially if they think that they are being ‘forced’ to do them against their will. Children take their lead from their parents so if they see their parents taking part in sports and fitness then they are more than likely to want to copy. Ensuring that the whole family stay fit and healthy can provide the right motivation for the less reluctant child to get involved. Embracing a healthier lifestyle yourself can help teach a child that they need to do the same.

It doesn’t have to be all about playing ‘football’. For instance a family outing to the zoo, theme park or local attraction such as a ruined castle will keep kids on their feet, give them something interesting to see and do whilst keeping them fit at the same time. Making an effort to have days out where the whole family joins in can lead to a child having an overall healthier lifestyle.

2) Use 'Active' Transport – Ditching the car when possible and either walking or cycling instead can help keep the whole family fit and healthy. Perhaps this means walking to school instead of taking the car or maybe a trip to the local park or shops can be accomplished by cycling there instead.

Although it may not be possible for everyone to ditch the car so easily due to distance or time constraints the occasional journey can still perhaps be substituted. Not only is walking or cycling better for your health, it can save you money and help the environment- all great examples to set your kids!

3) Regular Exercise - The key to staying fit and healthy for both adults and children alike is to exercise regularly. Try to schedule exercise activities (whatever they might be) at regular intervals but do let your kids set the pace. As soon as a child feels they are being forced to take part in a ‘fitness’ regime then you may start to get some resistance and refusal to join in.

Pushing your kids beyond their limits may have a negative impact on them wanting to do anything at all. Forcing them to train to become better at a sport or activity can seem like the right think to do if they appear to have a talent for something, but it is important to ensure that your kids are happy and not resenting the activity, as long term this will end up becoming a problem.

4) Keep Fit Through Daily Chores – Lets be honest, no kid enjoys having to do their weekly and daily chores, but chores are a good thing to implement as they help teach a child responsibilities whilst helping them to ‘earn their keep’.

If your child isn’t that keen on sports and outdoor activities then a subtle way for them to get some additional exercise is by combining their chores with physical activities. For example washing the car, mowing the lawn or vacuuming the house all are great ways to burn some extra calories and to get your kid moving and keeping fit without them even realising it!

5) Keep it New and Fun!

Many of us can recall sports lessons at school when we were forced to do sports we didn’t enjoy, more often than not in the freezing cold, without proper clothes. These horrible moments cement a negative impression on sports and fitness in a child’s psyche. This negativity needs to be avoided so the buzz word to remember is ‘fun’. If you ensure that any activity you take part in is fun for your child then fitness doesn’t become a burden or a chore and soon becomes a normal, everyday part of their life.

Kids can bore easily so an activity they have enjoyed in the past may quickly loose its shine from one week to the next. Unless you are intent on turning your kid into the next sporting superstar then whatever activities they do to stay fit is unimportant as long as they enjoy it.

Introduce new sports and activities into a child’s routine can be a great way of finding new active hobbies so it’s worth experimenting and trying different things. How about crazy golf, trampolining, horse riding or kayaking? There are plenty of things to try!

6) Turn the TV Off – When you live a busy life and have a full time job to contend with then it’s easy to let your kids entertain themselves in front of the television. Years ago kids TV was limited to a few hours in the afternoon and morning, but now with the advent of cable and satellite channels, children have dedicated stations that they can watch all day. There’s nothing wrong with watching TV, it can be fun and educational, but it’s a very inactive pastime.

Try to limit screen time and turn off the TV after a few hours. There may be arguments to start with but your child will start to get into a routine and will also look for other things to do whilst the TV is switched off- ideally more active things to do!

Kids also love playing computer games which are traditionally thought of as being very inactive. Lately things have changed a little- with the release of games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Sports, you can now get a workout in front of the TV. Where possible steer your child towards these ‘active’ games and then they’ll get the benefit of keeping fit and healthy, whilst doing something they really enjoy.

7) Try the Scouts & Guides – Not all kids are the outdoors types so may not suit absolutely everyone, but getting your kids involved with the Scouts, Guides or similar well organised groups can be a great way of ensuring your child lives an active lifestyle. For example the Scouts in the UK are open to young people from the ages of 6 to 25 and they take part in a wide range of activities from rock climbing, camping to sailing and hiking. Also there are a lot of creative and educational pastimes that these groups get up to making it a completely rounded experience.


8) Nutrition & Healthy Eating – To maintain a healthy lifestyle, exercise needs to be combined with healthy eating and good nutrition. Good nutrition doesn’t always have to be about boring foods that your child doesn’t like, so try to introduce a wide range of cuisines and styles to your child’s diet. You never know what they might enjoy eating.

Moderation is the buzzword for eating healthily. Minimise unhealthy snacks such as crisps, chocolate, biscuits and sweets and perhaps introduce them only as treats or for special occasions. Your child will not get used to having these ‘treats’ all the time and will appreciate them much more when they do have them. Unhealthy foods as listed above do not provide much if any nutritional benefit and can contain unhealthy additives which most nutritionists agree are not great for long term health.

Be wary of processed foods, they can sometimes contain unhealthy amounts of salt, sugar or other additives. Try to cook meals using raw ingredients, that way you’ll always know what goes into your food. It can be more expensive and time consuming to do this but the long term benefits to the whole family can be immense.

9) Team Games – If your child is showing signs that they enjoy sports such as: football, hockey or netball, then getting them involved in a local youth squad is a great way for a child to get all the exercise they need. Not only will they have fun and get fit, they may make friends with other kids on the team providing additional reason to go to team practice sessions. Adults can also get involved, perhaps by helping out with coaching or lifts to and from training sessions.

Again, having fun is key- if your kid stops wanting to go to practice, initially some light coaxing or persuasion may be necessary to get them back in the mood. However if this reluctance persists, long term you are better off letting your child dictate what they enjoy doing. As mentioned previously in this article, kids can get bored easily and can soon go off any activity, no matter how much they previously liked it.

10) Activity Holidays – Looking to kick start a new healthy lifestyle for the whole family? Taking an activity holiday where your child can get to try a wide range of sports and activities can be a great way of getting fit and finding new and interesting things to do. Venue’s such as Center Parcs offer the perfect weekend break escapes with a wide range of activities that suit all ages and they also run special offers such as ‘kids eat free’, which can save you money. Finding activities that inspire your children to become more active is the best way to ensure that they keep fit and healthy. Activity holidays are a great way on ‘hitting the bullseye’ and finding things that your child enjoys, that you may not have ever considered before.

By Jessica

Tips to Cure Depression

Depression is a very real and treatable illness. Depression is just about the loneliest experience in the world. Depressed people, who are often poor communicators place more demands on a marriage with their greater need for caring and support and end up in unhappier marriages. Depression affects teenagers, pensioners and everyone in between; married people, single people, rich and poor. clinical depression affects 15% of the population, and a third of all women. Sometimes people become depressed for what seems like a good reason - maybe they lost their job or a close friend passed away - but with clinical depression there doesn't necessarily have to be a reason for how you feel. Depressive disorders come in different forms, just as is the case with other illnesses such as heart disease. Major depression is manifested by a combination of symptoms (see symptom list) that interfere with the ability to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy once pleasurable activities. Such a disabling episode of depression may occur only once but more commonly occurs several times in a lifetime. A less severe type of depression, dysthymia, involves long-term, chronic symptoms that do not disable, but keep one from functioning well or from feeling good.

Depression can coexist with other illnesses. Seasonal affective disorder may point to an atavistic link with behaviour in hibernation. In some families, depressive disorders seem to occur generation after generation; however, they can also occur in people with no family history of these illnesses. Many people with dysthymia also experience major depressive episodes at some time in their lives. Depression has been found to occur at a higher rate among people who have other serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, HIV, diabetes, and Parkinson’s. Depression can increase the risks for developing coronary artery disease, HIV, asthma, and some other medical illnesses. Many people just don't realize that depression can cause so many problems or so much pain. Another type of depression is bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness. Not nearly as prevalent as other forms of depressive disorders, bipolar disorder is characterized by cycling mood changes: severe highs (mania) and lows (depression). Furthermore, it can increase the morbidity (illness) and mortality (death) from these conditions. Teens who were confused about their orientation were also more prone to suicide. Among these teens, boys were 3.4 times more likely and girls were 2.5 times more likely than teens to attempt suicide at least once in the past year.

Depression may occur only once in a person's life. Social conditions like poverty, homelessness, and community violence can make it more likely for people to become depressed. Two hallmarks of depression — symptoms key to establishing are Loss of interest in normal daily activities. Depressed mood. You feel sad, helpless or hopeless, and may have crying spells. Depression symptoms are characterized not only by negative thoughts, moods, and behaviors, but also by specific changes in bodily functions (for example, irregular eating, sleeping, crying spells, and decreased libido). Sometimes the mood switches are dramatic and rapid, but most often they are gradual. Other symptoms of other psychological problems, such as anxiety, panic attacks, obsessions or phobias, which mask the depression. Women experience depression about twice as often as men.1 Many hormonal factors may contribute to the increased rate of depression in women particularly such factors as menstrual cycle changes, pregnancy, miscarriage, postpartum period, pre-menopause, and menopause. Treatment may also include psychotherapy, which may help you cope with ongoing problems that may trigger or contribute to depression. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro), as the first-line treatment for depression because they have fewer serious side effects.
By Juliet

Building Muscle For Women Tips

Muscle building is often linked with men. But without us knowing it, it is also equally important for women. Thus, building muscle for women is the best way to lose weight

and to lose fat

.

However, men are absolutely different from women in terms of their hormones. It’s the hormone called testosterone that contributes to men being able to build muscle naturally. But women also has testosterone but in smaller amount compared to men. No matter how hard you try women will never build muscles like men do. But you can aim to build and tone muscles to look athletic, firm and fit.

When you exercise don’t expect to get the same result like men do because women build muscle differently from men. You can follow a plan to build muscle that is specifically designated for women. These can provide you with the best results.

Push yourself. When it comes to muscle building for women it is important to keep pushing. While you don’t want to workout too much, you want to make sure you cannot do one more repetition in a set because you are too exhausted. If you want to get best results, workout at least 3 times a week. You also need to eat well in order to build muscle. Most women forget about this part and prevent their muscle gain. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. And you can consider taking up supplements provided you have ask a doctor’s permission about it. Like multi vitamins, fish oil and high quality whey protein.

There should be warm up and cool down sessions in your workouts. And you must ensure safety when engaging in health and fitness scheme. Above all for women to a have long-term success, the plan must become your lifestyle. It must become a habit to avoid gaining back the fats that you have lost.

By Leslie

Diet Food for Weight Loss

The weight of a person usually depends on the type and amount of food one eats. The most essential part of any weight loss program is to find the right diet food to help lose weight. There are many elements to be taken into account in considering diet food.

Nutritional Value
Amount Control
Calorie Density
Balanced Food

There are many diet programs that have created their own diet food products that are high in nutritional value and can be bought at grocery stores and nutritional centers. In case the dieter is confused in deciding which diet food to buy at the grocery store, these products offer an easy alternative method for them to continue to follow their diet.

Good diet foods include fruits, vegetables, fish, legumes, nuts, olive oil and grains. You can follow this diet for lifetime since they encourage healthy eating habits that can become a lifestyle for healthy weight loss. This also involves the burning of calories for effective weight loss.

Ensure that while you are on diet food, you eat the right balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in every meal which will help you to achieve the best hormonal balance which would in turn help you to lose weight, revitalize yourself, avoid energy lag and achieve many more significant health benefits.

For diet foods that replace sugar with lower substitutes of calories, there is a controversy based on the possibility that the sugar substitutes that are used to replace sugar are themselves harmful. In many fat free and low fat foods, the fat is replaced with sugar, flour and other complete calorie ingredients and the reduction in calorific value is small.

A low carbohydrate diet is based on limiting the intake of carbohydrate. It is a long-term weight loss and maintenance program. It is found that many dieters limit their carbohydrate intake and find it very difficult to stick with the programs and end up quitting since the variety of diet foods is very restricted with the constraint on carbohydrates.
By Thomas

The Risks of Your First Navel Piercing

Although we refer to it as navel piercing, the actual navel is not pierced, except in the case of a true navel piercing. Instead the skin on the upper rim of the navel is pierced in the procedure that we commonly refer to as a navel piercing. Navel piercing is a relatively safe procedure. However there are a few precautions that should be taken to speed recovery as well as some health risks of which to be aware.

By focusing on 3 areas following your initial piercing you will be able to reduce the chances of experiencing problems. 1) Get the piercing done by an authorized professional, 2) Get pierced with a navel ring made from appropriate material, 3) Follow basic maintenance steps until the wound heals.

Firstly, you want to get off to a good start so get an authorized piercing professional to do the job. They will have the appropriate sterilization procedures and the piercing will be performed with a minimum of trauma to the surrounding skin. Navel piercing is never done with a piercing gun. If the person doing the piercing tries to do it with a piercing gun, leave immediately.

Next, the kind of navel ring you choose as your first will have a direct effect on the length of time it will take for the piercing to heal. It will also affect the chances of whether your body will reject the navel ring. It comes down to being sensible about the material your first navel ring is made from. Here are some options that will minimize the risks somewhat.

Bioplast is acknowledged as the best material to use for initial piercings. It is a biopolymer material that is biocompatible, flexible and can be sterilized in an autoclave. All of these features make it perfect as a navel ring material. Broadly speaking, people who have been pierced with Bioplast experience less swelling and infection and their wound heals faster than other materials. Bioplast navel rings are a great option to try first up.

Titanium is another excellent option for your first navel ring. Like Bioplast, Titanium is biocompatible and will not be rejected by the body. It is also a particularly strong, yet lightweight metal that rarely produces an allergic response. Titanium has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal, so you have a light piece of jewelry that is very unlikely to break. If you prefer the look of metal over Bioplast, titanium navel rings are an outstanding choice.

Steel is also a lower-risk choice of material. The steel is treated with a hypo-allergenic alloy to reduce the risk of infection. Steel doesn’t quite have the same properties as Bioplast or titanium but does give you a low-risk material to use. Surgical steel can be autoclaved to ensure sterilization and so there should be few problems with wearing a steel navel ring.

No matter how careful you are or how diligent your daily cleaning and bathing, every person’s body is different and some people will react differently to others. All piercings attract risks to some degree or another. Complaints to be aware of include infections, allergic reactions, bleeding and nerve damage. You also leave yourself open to more serious problems such as hepatitis, HIV or tetanus, particularly if the person doing the piercing has not taken necessary sterilization precautions. You might also find that wearing tight-fitting clothing will irritate the wound and so the healing time may be prolonged as a result.

As with any change to your body that could potentially bring a health risk with it, the best advice to follow is to consult your family GP. This will ensure that you are at last properly informed about what you can expect. From then on it should be a matter of practicing a sensible care regimen to keep your piercing infection-free.
By Deegee