Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 6-12 Subject: Health/P.E.

National Fitness

To show Americans the importance regular exercise and better nutrition, President Bush participated in a three-mile run Sunday, June 23, along with hundreds of White House workers. Bush himself posted an official time of 20:29, finishing near the top at 26th. First Lady Laura Bush led a large group of walkers over a 11/2-mile course and completed it in 22:58.

Bush underscored the fitness theme in his weekly radio address Saturday, saying every participant in the race took important steps on the road to better health. "If just 10 percent of adults began walking regularly, Americans could save $5.6 billion in costs related to heart disease. And research suggests we can reduce cancer deaths by one-third simply by changing our diets and getting more exercise."

You can't get any healthier just by surfing the Web, but you can learn vital information that can help you get your life on a healthy track. This week's online lesson sets its sights on fitness and nutrition.

Runner's World

Certainly there are many fun activities that can make you physically fit, but minute for minute, running offers the greatest cardiovascular benefit of any other form of exercise. And running is easy. You don't need a lot of training to get started, you don't need a special talent or skill, and you can do it by yourself or in groups. The place to go online to learn more about running is Runner's World Online. Under the Training and Racing heading, click Training Plans. There are several training plans for you to work with here, depending on your level of experience. If you are a beginning runner, click The 30/30 Plan. This plan will get you started in a way that's both safe and brainless with 30 minutes of exercise—walking or jogging—for the first 30 days. Beginners should also read The Run/Walk Plan, which shows that you can get plenty of good exercise and training benefit from mixing a little walking into your run. If you're an advanced runner or interested in marathons, there are several training plans for you to read about.

Click Best Workouts, also under the Training and Racing heading. Choose a few articles that interest you, including Prevent Burnout, which will help you find the right balance between too much exercise and too little, and Warming Up and Cooling Down, which includes tips for before and after your exercise routine.

One other section you should check out is Injury Prevention. Read several of the articles under the heading Identify Injury, including Don't Ignore These Symptoms, which discusses several serious warning signs you should know about, Stay Healthy Out There, with advice on avoiding or dealing with common problems.

If you are a competing high school runner, check out Runner's World's High School Runner site for articles and features of special interest to you.

Nutrition.Gov

Regular exercise is important if you want a healthy lifestyle, but nutrition is equally important. It's also something that requires a lot of learning and practice. The USDA has prepared a document called Dietary Guidelines for Americans, now in its 5th edition, and now online. On this index page you will see two links for this document; choose the HTML (web) version.

We've already covered a bit about fitness, so for now start by clicking and reading Build a Healthy Base and start with Let the Pyramid guide your food choices. Using the food pyramid, plan out a healthy menu for one day (three meals and a snack). Indicate the right portions. How does the food label (Nutrition Facts and Ingredients) help you do this? What are the benefits of whole grain foods? What are the benefits of Fruits and Vegetables? Name several foodborne illnesses and tell how to protect yourself and others from them.

Return to the contents and click Choose Sensibly. Is it good to have some fat in your diet? If so, what kind? What are the four kinds of fat? Should you get most of your calories from animal or plant foods? What kinds of foods promote tooth decay? Does too much sugar cause hyperactivity in children? Should you worry about eating too little salt? What are the risks of eating too much salt?

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