1 . The rate of childhood obesity in the U. S. has tripled over the past 50 years. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) made waves this year by recommending that doctors put obese kids as young as two years old on intensive, family-oriented lifestyle and behavior plans. It also suggested prescribing weight-loss drugs to children l2 and older and surgery to teens 13 and older. This advice reflects the organization’s adoption of a more active position on childhood obesity.

Yet the lifestyle programs the AAP recommends are expensive, inaccessible to most children and hard to maintain. Few weight-loss drugs have been approved for children. And surgery has potential risks and few long-term safety data. Furthermore, it’s not clear whether interventions in youngsters help to improve health or merely add to the psychological burden overweight kids face from the society.

Rather than paying close attention to numbers on a scale, the U. S. and countries with similar trends should focus on an underlying truth: we need to invest in more and safer places for children to play where they can move and run around, climb and jump, ride and skate.

Why is it so hard to get kids moving? Experts blame the problem on the privatization of sports — as public investment in school-based athletics dwindles, expensive private leagues have grown, leaving many kids out. In addition to fewer opportunities at school, researchers cite increased screen time and a lack of safe places for them to play outside the home. New York City, for example, had 2,067 public playgrounds as of 2019 — a very small amount for its large population. In Los Angeles in 2015, only 33 percent of youths lived within walking distance of a park.

Kids everywhere need more places to play. Public funding to build and keep up these areas is crucial, but other options such as shared-use agreements can make unused spaces available to the public. These opportunities aren’t primarily about changing children’s waistlines — they’re how we keep childhood healthy and fun.

2 . Discover the Huge Health Benefits of Strength Training

One of the best ways to stay fit and healthy as you age is to do strength and power training exercises. It is known that when you are in your thirties, you will begin to lose muscle mass. This loss actually contributes to achy joints, the increased risk of injury, and the “middle-age spread” we all fear. What’s more, the older you get, the faster muscle mass loses. It means that eventually, simple tasks like getting out of a chair and climbing stairs can become more difficult.

Strength training can help you build muscles, make you strong, increase your staying power and make everyday activities easier. By combining strength and power training exercises, you’ll not only get stronger, but also improve your reaction speed. As you grow older, that’s critical because it can help prevent falls. Here is a book, Strength and Power Training for All Ages, for your reference.

·The key muscles to work for an injury-free body

·How to tell how much weight is suitable for you

·How to strengthen the bones most likely to break

·How to take pressure off your knees when walking or running

·Why you’ll want to apply heat to sore joints before you exercise

·Build bones

·Fight diseases

·Improve balance

·Strengthen muscles &Increase muscle power

Get a copy, start training, and then you’ll discover a whole new self.

5 . We all want to keep fit and stay healthy, but a few things may prevent it: laziness, a busy schedule, and maybe even a limited spend.     1    . You can even make a bit of money on a few of these activities.

Babysit.

If you have your own kids, you’ll probably agree that looking after kids can help keep you fit. If you don’t, you can experience the wonderful world of toddlerhood by volunteering or signing up for a babysitting job. The best ages to babysit are those toddler years (2 through 5). Why?     2    .

Care for your yard.

    3    . Work on your yard all year long and you’ll have more than your heart going — best exercise of all is to push that lawnmower (除草机) around especially if you have a large lawn. Or even better, put in your own waste water system. All that digging should be great for upper body strength and patience.

    4    .

Have you checked your storeroom, basement and kitchen lately? Well, moving small items from their storage areas and turning them into boxes for sale, donation pick-ups or just further storage will get your blood exciting. Even just pushing around a dust cleaner, or sweeping your garage floor should oil your joints (关节).

Use someone else’s sports or exercise equipment (设备).

Have you checked under your bed lately? All around the nation, there is a flood of unused exercise equipment sitting around in garages and hiding in spare rooms and basements.     5    — if not at your own home, they could be sitting somewhere in a friend’s or relative’s home, sadly unused. It may be a good idea to reuse them.

10 . Top running routes in the USA

Holidays for some people are all about relaxing on the beach but for others, it’s important to be out and about. Walking and running holidays allow travellers to explore the beauty of a country and get plenty of fresh air without spending too much money. Here are some of the most beautiful running routes (路线) in the USA — you may want to give these a go.

An area favoured by athletes from all over the world, Mammoth Lakes offers amazing views and plenty of trails (小路) along with a healthy running community for active travellers to explore. Well-known track coaches Joe Vigil and Bob Larsen brought marathon superstars to the area in 2001 and ever since, it has trained 12 Olympians who have earned two Olympic medals as well as three major marathon wins.

Perfect for runners who like a bit of variety on their route, the Three Rivers Heritage Trail offers 24 miles of path going through a number of neighbourhoods, popular shopping and entertainment districts (娱乐区) and green space providing the perfect guide to the city on two feet.

Naples is well-known for its high-end shopping, world-class culture and high-class dining. The best running trail is along Gulf Shore Boulevard and Gordon Road, with views of the white sandy beaches and water, and some of Naples boutique hotels and holiday homes.

The Barr Trail is a trail that began as a way to enter mining (采矿) areas on Pikes Peak and later developed into a tourist trail. It starts in Manitou Springs, a little tourist town just west of The Springs, and climbs to the top of Pikes Peak in about 12 miles and 7,400 feet of vertical (垂直的) gain. This is not an easy route so be sure to pack the right supplies and rest when you need to.