Vitamin D linked to decrease risk of stress fractures in adolescent girls

Vitamin D may be helpful in protecting highly active pre-teen and teen girls, such as those who play sports, from stress fractures, researchers reported Monday.

The study was surprising because calcium has long been considered the nutrient most vital to bone health in children. But, in developing children, vitamin D intake may matter more.

Too Few Kids Getting Outdoors With Mom or Dad

Nearly half of all U.S. preschool-age children don’t get outdoors at least once a day for parent-supervised playtime, researchers reported Monday, causing concern among experts who say early exercise habits could protect children from obesity later in life.

Many children might not be getting enough outdoor exercise because of barriers faced by single parents and families with two working parents, said Dr. Pooja Tandon, a pediatrician with the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, who led the research.

It might also come down to a “cultural shift as to how families spend their time,” Tandon said, citing the way parents tightly schedule their kids’ play dates and classes while seemingly forgetting the value of free play and outdoor time. “There may be missed opportunities for kicking those kids outside the door when it’s appropriate and safe.”

Tandon also said that the lack of daily outdoor exercise among preschool children (defined here as those in the year before kindergarten) also might stem from parents assuming “that young children are spending their day running around, that they’re active,” she said, suggesting that some day-care centers and babysitters are not getting children outside often enough, or for long enough, to meet the 60 minutes of daily exercise recommended by the National Association for Sport and Physical Activity.

The reasons child-care providers are not be meeting these recommendations might be diverse, including  ”some real, some perceived,” Tandon said. Yesterday’s rain should not prevent an outdoor outing today, she said. And, she added, “Some child-care providers say children didn’t bring a jacket or they wore flip-flops. Depending on staffing, maybe the class doesn’t go outside. “

The good news, Tandon said, is that “these young children are naturally programmed to be active if given the opportunities.”

How Exercise Jogs the Brain

Physical activity boosts cognition by improving neurons’ power supply

The lifelong mental benefits of exercising have long been known, from improving learning in kids to staving off dementia in seniors. Yet how working up a sweat leads to better cognition is much less clear. A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology reveals that the key may lie in the body’s power supply.

Just as a booming metropolis might build new power plants to meet a rising need for electricity, our muscles respond to the demands of exercise by producing new mitochondria, the tiny structures inside cells that supply the body with energy. J. Mark Davis, a physiolo-
gist at the University of South Carolina, and his colleagues wondered if brain cells might do the same thing. While studying mice, they found that quantities of a signaling molecule, dubbed by researchers “a master regulator” of mitochondria production, increased in the brain after half an hour a day of treadmill running. The mice’s brain cells also had more mitochondrial DNA—distinct from the regular cellular DNA found in the nucleus—providing “gold standard” evidence of more mitochondria. It appears that the brain “adapts and changes by bringing more of these power­houses” online, Davis says. The increased energy supply allows the brain to work faster and more efficiently.

The finding could help scientists understand how exercise staves off age- and disease-related declines in brain function, because neurons naturally lose mito­chondria as we age, Davis explains. Although past research has shown that exercise encourages the growth of new neurons in certain regions, the widespread expansion of the energy supply could underlie the benefits of exercise to more general brain functions such as mood regulation and dementia pre­vention. “The evidence is accumulating rapidly that exercise keeps the brain younger,” Davis says.

Episode 27: Concussions in Kids and Girls and Much More

There has been a tremendous amount of attention given to concussions at the professional and college levels of sports, but is it a problem among youth athletes and females in particular? Also, Dr. Geier discusses the injuries of San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, Alabama Crimson Tide running back Trent Richardson, and Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden. Plus, he answers your sports injury questions.

Kids Summer Session (Ages 6-12)

At this age CrossFit teaches not only basic physical skills, but also social skills and confidence. Children learn foundation movements like the squat, pushups, pull ups, climbing, jumping, and elementary gymnastic movements.

More importantly, you will see your child also learns to follow directions, listen, communicate, and play with others. Every class includes game play and positive reinforcement. Your child’s confidence, both physically and mentally, will grow with each class.

This age group is on the road to becoming “Superheroes” in CrossFit and in life. The skills they learn are more detailed and may involve light weights. Exercises will include plyometrics, gymnastics, weight lifting basics, running, rowing, and stretching.

CrossFit Impavidus Kids includes a focus on leadership skills. As children progress through the program, they will be asked to model movements, lead exercises, and demonstrate an ability to verbally explain exercises.

*During our summer sessions, we have included a nutrition section. We find it is really important to teach our children how to make healthy choices, read nutrition labels, and understand why fast food will slow us down. So along with exercise, games, meeting new friends, your children will learn how to take care of their bodies, from the inside-to the outside!

Here is a list the Nutritional Topics we will be discussing, and the healthy snacks your children will help prepare during the Summer Session:

Nutrition sessions:

“A walk a day is the Healthy Way”

                Nutrition: Banana Bread, Cheese sticks

“When Hungry for a snack, what do I eat?”

                Nutrition: Fruit tortillas-berries with fruit dip in a tortilla (coconut milk, coconut flour, bananas, vanilla)

“Getting strong Wont Steer you Wrong”

                Nutrition: Apples, almond butter, carrots

“Read your label, and then sit at the table”

                Nutrition: Homemade Beef Jerky, carrots

“Fast foods can slow you down”

                Nutrition: Snack Pops- almond butter, nuts, dried cranberries, bananas

“Flexiblity is your responsibility”

                Nutrition: Bread, Cheese sticks

“Get off to a good start…..Eat a healthy Breakfast”

                Nutrition: Fruit tortillas-berries with fruit dip in a tortilla (coconut milk, coconut flour, bananas, vanilla)

-Plate portion exercise

                Nutrition: Apples, almond butter, carrots

“Putting it all together”  PT 1

                Nutrition: Homemade Beef Jerky, carrots

“Putting it all together “ PT 2

                Nutrition: Snack Pops- almond butter, nuts, dried cranberries, bananas

*Sessions are Monday through Friday and include play/fitness time, skill work, challenging workouts, and an hour for nutrition and snack. Pricing reflects our camp session including a snack. If your child has allergies you may pack his/her snack. We will serve it along with our class snack during our nutrition section of the day. We encourage healthy snacks.

Email us for more info: Kids@crossfitimpavidus.com