Physical Activity

Joshua Kaufman knows that the Board of Education is in a no-win situation when it adopts a wellness policy next month. "Whatever you do, you will have a negative effect," the board chairman said of the coming decision on a policy that will cover everything from snack food to physical education classes. Although fewer than 20 people testified about the latest version Thursday night, Kaufman knows the struggle that board members will face in coming weeks as they review hundreds of e-mail messages and written testimony on the system's policy, set for an April 23 vote.

WASHINGTON -- I struggled valiantly to climb ropes in my elementary school gym, survived hot September scrimmages in a heavy football uniform with a merciless coach and avoided prepubescent heart failure after hours of after-school tennis. And I was no athlete. But those were the days when President John F. Kennedy spoke of a "vital link between physical fitness and national greatness" in 1963 and President Lyndon B. Johnson called children's physical fitness "a matter of national concern" two years later.

The public gets another chance tomorrow to weigh in on a proposed wellness policy for the Howard County school system that would set standards for everything from physical education to the fat content of snacks in the cafeteria. The hearing - the last scheduled by the school board before a vote on the policy - is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Board of Education Building in Ellicott City. The session comes after months of debate and a revision of the initial policy, which would have banned candy and high-fat snack foods during the school day and extended those limits to food at sporting events, plays and other after-school activities.

Schools to close 2 hours early Friday Carroll County public schools will close two hours early Friday (closed for half-day kindergarten students) to start the winter holiday. Schools will remain closed through Jan. 2 and reopen Jan. 3. Information: 410-751-3020. Healthy heart team wins activity award The Children's Heart Health Action Team of Carroll County recently was presented with the Physical Activity Excellence Award from Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and members of the State Advisory Council on Physical Fitness.

Thirteen-year-old Josh Turner knows what it feels like to have kids make fun of him because of his weight. "I know I'm overweight," Josh said. "The kids at school give me a hard time so I tried a crash diet last year for about a week and that didn't work. But since then, I've lost about 20 pounds and kept it off." More than 9 million children ages 6 to 19 in the United States are obese and just as many more are at risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Walking has become a way of life and wellness for a group of more than 150,000 African-American women across the United States. The women are linked through the Washington, D.C.-based Black Women's Health Imperative and its Walking for Wellness Program, and hundreds of them log on to www.blackwomenshealth.org every day to document pedometer steps and the type and duration of their physical activity, to record what they've eaten, to get nutritional facts, weight-management and stress-alleviating tips and encouragement as well.

A new study suggests that women who exercise even a minimal amount after being treated for breast cancer are more likely to survive the disease than those who don't. Women who walked as little as one hour a week - or engaged in an equivalent exercise - increased their chances of living, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, both Harvard Medical School-affiliated institutions. "Women with breast cancer have much to gain and little to lose from exercise," said Dr. Michelle D. Holmes, a Harvard assistant professor of medicine and co-author of the study.

As she perfected a yoga pose demanding a balance of strength and surrender, Myriam Klotz "understood in a flash" a parallel principle developed by spiritual master Baal Shem Tov, founder of Judaism's Hasidic movement. The principle stresses the importance of remaining both firm and supple in one's spiritual explorations. "Once I got that in yoga through a bodily experience, I saw insights into that teaching ... and vice versa," says Klotz, a yoga instructor and rabbi trained in the progressive Reconstructionist movement.

This column is for everyone who hates to exercise, or would like to exercise, sort of, but really, truly, deeply believes they don't have enough time or just can't do it. First, if you're in this category, take heart: You're not alone. Two-thirds of Americans are now overweight or obese, according to government figures, and more than half do not get enough physical activity -- and that's according to the old, wimpier guidelines. Two weeks ago, federal health officials upped the ante, issuing tougher, new exercise standards as part of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005.

A major report on the growing problem of childhood obesity calls for "fundamental changes in our society" that would affect how children spend their time and how food is advertised, packaged and sold to them. The report by the Institute of Medicine calls for schools to restrict vending machine sales and require at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day. Planners should design communities that encourage walking and other exercise, parents should restrict television and computer time to a total of two hours a day, and federal officials should monitor food advertising geared toward children, it says.