news

Standing Desks at the White House

The White House has requested $700,000 in funds for standing desks, prompting a social media debate about the cost-benefit analysis of standing desks. This article offers several of the benefits of standing instead of sitting at work, including links to relevant evidence, while this article includes both support and public backlash for the idea. Perhaps purposefully, in three articles including this one, there are accompanying photos of President Obama standing behind the seated desk in the Oval Office.

Considering the “no press is bad press” cliche, this White House proposal is furthering the discussion on the detrimental health impact of a sedentary lifestyle and promoting activity. Let’s take a stand!

obama on the phone in the oval office

Share

Gold star for South Carolina schools!

This article, published last month, looks at some of the ways South Carolina schools are bringing movement and activity to students during the school day.  The instigator of the new programming says, “This is unbelievably hard to sell,” and yet there has been initial success in increasing opportunities.  We need to continue to educate teachers and educational policy makers on the benefits of activity, both for health and for academic performance.  And we must celebrate those who are promoting activity in classroom, like David Spurlock, the coordinator of health, wellness and physical education for the Charleston County School District.

Read the full article here and view our “In the News” page for more relevant stories.

Share

The Teacher Desk…a Thing of the Past?

This blog, from August 2015, was recently shared with me. Written by high school English teacher Nicholas Provenzano, it offers specific benefits for teachers who remove their desk from the classroom. The idea of “ditching” the teacher desk, which Provenzano proposes will improve the learning environment of the classroom, is further supported by the evidence that sitting is associated with increased health risks. So if your classroom needs a makeover, consider ditching your desk!

Link to “Ditching the Desk”

For information on students using standing desks, see our “In the News” page and the video from October 2015.

Share

Positive Information about School Lunches

As teachers, we must consider a “whole child” view of health and be aware of the implications of both physical activity and nutrition on our students.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published a report sharing positive news about the availability of healthy options in our school cafeterias.  The report, “School-Level Practices to Increase Availability of Fruits, Vegetables, and Whole Grains, and Reduce Sodium in School Meals”, notes that there has been an increase in the number of schools offering two or more fruits and two or more vegetables per day since 2000.  Let’s continue this positive trend!

Read the report here.

Share