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4A Daily News – Tuesday, July 2, 2013 Vitality health Health of children improves, more live in poverty & fitness Exercise at 20 vs. 60 By Gabriella Boston Special to The Washington Post By Susan Heavey Reuters Families in the United States are making gains in education and health, two key factors in their overall well-being, a report released on Monday showed, adding to data that suggests the U.S. economy is slowly rebounding from the 2007-2009 recession. Still, the latest findings on the state of U.S. children and their parents by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found many families continue to struggle with poverty amid a lack of steady, full-time work and affordable housing. Nationwide, 16.4 million children, or 23 percent, were in families living in poverty in 2011, an increase from 15.7 million, or 22 percent, in 2010, and 3 million more than in 2005, the data showed. "The negative impact of the recession remains evident," researchers at the non-profit youth advocacy organization wrote in their annual report, which focuses on children of all ages. The report is closely watched by federal and state policymakers. Overall, dozens of states saw more youth improve in reading, math and graduation rates since 2005, a key indicator of future economic well-being, according to the report. Most states also saw more children with health insurance, improvements in birth weights, and fewer youth deaths between 2005 and 2011, it said. But signs also pointed to continued economic struggles. Besides the increase in children in families living at or below the official U.S. poverty line, which was $22,811 in 2011, almost one-third of American youth, or nearly 23.8 million, were in families where no parent had full-time, year-round employment, data showed. Additionally, about more than 29 million children lived in families that had to spend more than one-third of their income on housing in 2011 - about 2 million more than in 2005. "The progress we're seeing in child health and education is encouraging, but the economic data clearly speak to the considerable challenges we still face," said Laura Speer, associate director for policy reform and data for the foundation. Among specific U.S. states, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts topped the list for child well-being. The lowest scoring states were Nevada, Mississippi and New Mexico. Mississippi, which consistently has ranked last in the 24-year history of the report, moved up to 49th in part because of gains in the number of children attending pre-school and more parents with high school diplomas The foundation for the first time gave data on multiracial children, a growing demographic in the United States. While data showed "deep disparities" in health, education and economic well-being for specific racial minorities such as blacks, Latinos and Native Americans compared to more well-off Asians and whites, "multiracial kids are generally faring better than or as well as the overall population," researchers said. The foundation also looked specifically at children between the ages of 3 and 4, the key focus of President Barack Obama's push to expand access to pre-school programs through a proposed federal-state partnership funded by increased tobacco taxes. More than half of eligible children, or about 4.3 million, were not enrolled in a pre-school program between 2009 and 2011, although 44 states and Washington, D.C., saw improved enrollment, the report found. One sneaker fits all. According to government recommendations, you should do at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate aerobic activity per week and twiceweekly sessions of strength training to improve your health, no matter your age. But don't physical fitness needs change as we grow older? Not that much, it turns out. Todd Miller, an associate professor in the Department of Exercise Science at George Washington University, says whether you're 20 years old or 60, you will need a combination of cardio and strength training to keep your heart and muscles in good shape and your weight under control. The one difference may be that strength training becomes more crucial for everyday functional fitness as you get older. "A big issue as you age is the risk of falling. And strength training that builds muscle power helps prevent falls," he says. "People should do a combination of both cardio and strength" to meet those fitness goals, he says, but in general he sees an "overemphasis on cardio and underemphasis on strength." The challenge, Miller says, is not deciding whether fitness needs are age-specific. It's getting people to do what they should do, at any age, to stay healthy and fit. "The problem is not the exercise or the type of exercise; it's the adherence or the lack of adherence to exercise that is the main issue," he says. Only about 20 percent of Americans follow the government recommendations. As you try to figure out a regime that keeps you healthy, here's some advice from three people — Miller, a trainer and tennis great Martina Navratilova — that may help you, whether you're 20 or 60. The professional athlete "As we age, we should exercise more often but for shorter periods of time," says Navratilova, 56, who writes a health and fitness column for AARP. "And mix up your routine. Do strength, cardio, yoga. Do what feels good in the body, go easy on the joints," she says. That's actually pretty much in line with government recommendations, which say, "We know 150 minutes each week sounds like a lot of time, but you don't have to do it all at once. Not only is it best to spread your activity out during the week, but you can break it up into small chunks of time during the day. As long as you're doing your activity at a moderate or vigorous effort for at least 10 minutes at a time," says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends "a 10-minute brisk walk, 3 times a day, 5 days a week. This will give you a total of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity." Navratilova says that when she was in her 20s, she worked out six hours a day and could do 70-pound triceps presses. No more. "Daily exercise? I don't do anything daily except eat and sleep," she jokes. "But I do think if you can do functional fitness [exercises designed to help someone better handle daily tasks] for an hour a day, that is great," she says. But for aging bodies, she adds, don't overdo it. "Be nice to yourself and listen to your body." Navratilova says she recently began running again after a hiatus. "Nothing feels better than when you can run," she says. "But every day? Absolutely not. It's hard on your joints." Now living in Miami, she mixes it up by adding bicycling and paddleboarding to her running and tennis cardio regimen. The trainer Mike Fantigrassi, a trainer at the National Academy of Sport Medicine in Chandler, Ariz., says he makes balance and flexibility exercises a regular part of sessions with clients, but it's different for younger and older people. "If we have 60 minutes, we would do about five minutes of flexibility for someone in their 20s or 30s," he says. "For someone 65 or older, we might do up to 15 minutes of flexibility." It's not that the 20- or 30year old should go completely without stretching (particularly of the postural muscles — chest, core, neck and shoulders — that get tight from sitting at a desk all day) or working on balance, he says. But younger bodies, generally speaking, are naturally looser than older ones and have not been subjected to as much wear and tear. So when a 20-year-old reaches down to pick something up off the floor, he probably won't notice anything, but a 60-year-old may feel a tight hamstring. "But even a teenager who never does any flexibility work might get reduced joint flexibility eventually," he adds. Fantigrassi, who is 40, adds that the ability to generate muscle power suffers as we age, but we can slow the process down with such exercises as jumps — from foot to foot, or up and down from a bench or box. Eventually you're going to lose your basketball jump shot, but you can keep it alive longer by training the leg muscles that generate power. The researcher Miller, 45, says that while building stronger muscles is protective for older people, strength training is important for everyone. People begin to lose muscle mass and strength in their 30s, which slows metabolism. WebMD.com says that "each extra pound of muscle you carry can burn up to 50 additional calories [per day] just to maintain itself — and with no effort on your part." Others, however, suggest that the muscle effect is probably much smaller. Lifting weights can counteract muscle loss. Of course, you still may not be able to lift as much weight in your 60s as you could in your 20s, but you can slow muscle loss, which otherwise can decline by 5 percent per decade after age 30. "The only difference between 20 and 60 is that you might be lifting less weight at 60. But the exercises themselves shouldn't change unless you have an injury, but that isn't age related," says Miller. Strength training will also improve bone density, says Miller, who advocates the type of strength exercises where the feet are planted on the floor and generate force into the spine. It could be a regular squat. It could be a squat with dumbbells in your hands, resting on your shoulders. It could be one of those squat machines with padding on top of the shoulders. Given that most Americans gain roughly a pound per year starting in their 20s, it's important at all ages to have cardio workouts in your week. "If running feels good, then run," Miller says. Just make sure it feels okay in your joints, whether you're 20 or 60. "For me, it hurts, so I don't do it." In such cases, a treadmill or bike may be a better bet, he says. Whatever you choose, the point is to get regular exercise no matter what age you are. New labels help prevent child poisonings By Kathryn Doyle Reuters Fewer small children have been sickened or died from accidentally taking cough and cold medicines meant only for older ages, according to a new study of the effects of recent label changes on these over the counter products. High doses of antihistamines can cause coma, seizure and abnormal heart rhythms in kids, and an overdose of the pain reliever acetaminophen can cause liver failure, according to the study's lead author Dr. Maryann Mazer-Amirshahi of the department of emer- gency medicine at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "Also, consider that there is not a lot of evidence that these medications are effective in young children, so the benefit of using them does not outweigh the risks," Mazer-Amirshahi told Reuters Health. In 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association took such products made specifically for children off the market, and in 2008 they added warnings to adult medications cautioning not to give the drugs to kids under four years old, A Retirement Community for the Active Senior Citizens EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY Tehama Estates provides the best living environment available to active seniors in Red Bluff, CA. 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The number of children under 12 who had taken the medicines accidentally decreased by 33 percent; PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-888-628-1948 www.redbluff.mercy.org those given the medications by their parents in error decreased by 46 percent, according to the results published in The Journal of Pediatrics. There were also 59 percent fewer calls to poison control centers for infants under two years old given the medicine incorrectly by a parent. "We were expecting to see a decrease but the magnitude of it took us by surprise," Mazer-Amirshahi said. "The changes had a major effect but at the same time, although there were profound decreases, there remains a significant number of ingestions," she said. "I can tell you from my own practice experience I frequently encounter parents who give these medications even though they aren't recommended," she said. Kids can also still get into medicine bottles on their own and take some, which won't be solved by label changes, Budnitz said. There were 54,000 unintentional ingestions of cough and cold medicines in 2010, down from 80,000 in 2005, according to the study. The way to get those numbers down further is by changing safety features of the bottles, Budnitz said. "There are opportunities to build in safety to products," such as including "flow restrictors" in the nozzles, he said. Features like those can "keep a child puzzled long enough for an adult to notice" that they've gotten into the medicine cabinet, he said. Educating parents is another important prevention technique, he said. Mazer-Amirshahi hoped the results of the study would prompt doctors to have a conversation with patients about these common medications. Understandably, parents want to act when their child is sick, but they need to carefully read labels and talk to their pediatrician before giving any medications to young children, she said. "In addition, be sure to safely store any medications in the home out of the reach of children," she said.