July 29, 2010
We’re super-excited to give you a closer look at the new Zamzee activity meter! For several months, we’ve been working with the truly innovative folks at NONOBJECT to build a device that’s durable, customizable, and good-looking too – all based on feedback from our kid customers. The Zamzee activity meter records a user’s physical activity, and activity data is uploaded to the Zamzee website via a built-in USB connector.
In a recent conversation, Branko Lukic of NONOBJECT talked about the role of the activity meter in the overall Zamzee experience, saying, “This is a highly unique project because it lives in the cross-section of the physical world and the digital world.” That kind of big-picture thinking combined with the endless creative energy of the NONOBJECT team were huge assets in developing the new device.
Read More »
(
+2 rating,
2 votes)
July 26, 2010
We invited Andre Blackman to discuss his take on physical activity in schools, and based on new data from the report “F as in Fat“ by Trust for America’s Health (sponsored by RWJF) this post couldn’t come at a better time. The report highlights that most American youth do not meet the CDC recommended 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. –HopeLab
Having most of my elementary school education in the late 80s and early 90s, there was one thing that many of us really looked forward to during the day: recess (and later known as PE). It was a perfect break in the monotony of learning numbers, words and all the other important stuff for an educational foundation. Not only did it give us kids a break, it gave us an outlet for the energy that we had sitting in those chairs. It’s no secret that physical activity helps keep kids’ minds and bodies in shape…so why has it left the priority list of so many schools over the years?
According to the 2010 Shape of Physical Education Report (PDF) developed by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, only 5 states require some of physical education in grades K-12. Even further cause for alarm, only one state follows the nationally recommended 150 min/week of PE in elementary school and 225 min/week in middle and high school. Now we are all familiar with the childhood obesity issue that has been plaguing the country for many years, but when we start speaking about solutions, do we mention the need to bring back regular PE classes and physical activity to the school systems as much as we look at cracking down on the snack food empires? I just wonder which might have a better chance at being implemented.
One thing I’m glad to see are organizations such as the American Heart Association, a leading authority on a large aspect of our public’s health, chiming in to advocate for change. Just last month, the CEO of the AHA put out a press release highlighting the lack of quality physical education in many states. Some great initiatives are also taking place including Be Active NC’s entry into the Pepsi Refresh challenge with their Just Push Play project. Partnering up with the nPlay Foundation gave the project a boost from the mainstream sports angle, giving it another visibility boost.
As we move forward with this seemingly snails-pace battle, we have to keep in mind that changing the minds of youth to empower themselves and making winning policy changes will be the actions we need to pursue to see a real difference. Amy Jussel of Shaping Youth wrote about this a few years back and it still rings true today regarding getting rid of lipservice and being real about childhood obesity. It’s an uphill battle but with smart thinking, creativity and passionate people working hard the victories along the way are well worth it!
Andre Blackman is an agent of change and innovation within the public health community – passionate about the role of new media, mobile technology and other useful innovations as it relates to health communications and public health in general – resulting in Public Health 2.0.
(
+4 rating,
4 votes)
2 Comments
