Parent Teacher Associations across the country are being awarded live-healthy grants in honor of this year’s National PTA Healthy Lifestyle Month in November.

The National PTA president, Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors, announced, “It’s no secret that we have a childhood obesity epidemic in this country. Statistics show that over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled and nearly one in three American children is overweight or obese. So, we’re proud of all the PTAs across the country who are taking the initiative to keep our kids healthy.”

The purpose of this grant is to promote healthy lifestyles through good nutrition and physical activities. Research has shown that the health of our children significantly effects their overall happiness and success in life. The PTA Healthy Lifestyles Grant Program is working to increase the awareness of that. They are engaging families and students across the country to provide healthier meal options and active lifestyle opportunities.

Read more about this story at EduInReview.com.

Have you wondered why kids have a hard time concentrating in class? Have you noticed a difference based on the foods they eat? If you have young children in school you have likely seen the type of foods being served during mealtimes. These aren’t exactly the meals that one would hope for their child. Not only do they typically lack all the nutrition kids need in such a developmental stage but they also don’t provide the healthy, whole foods that lead to higher concentration and learning in the classroom.

How can a child eating chicken nuggets and having drinks loaded with sugar possibly be able to focus through a math period?
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The benefits of yoga continue to stretch and now the advantages of down-dogging on sticky mats is reaching out to kids. In today’s fast-paced and information-overload society, most of us have a tough time focusing on one task for more than a few minutes and when it comes to the attention span of kids, they are no different.

In a study by Gaiam and California State University, researchers showed that kids who did yoga received better grades and had less disciplinary action taken against them in class.

Marsha Wenig, creator of the Gaiam YogaKids DVD program and the president of YogaKids International credits these results to the physical aspect of yoga since children learn best when they learn through movement. The postures of yoga help develop hand-eye coordination and motor skills at the same time as they produce the mind-stilling moments that have helped to give yoga the reputation of being a wondrous stress-reducer.
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According to a study released by the Texas Education Agency, students who are physically fit are less likely to have disciplinary problems and more likely to do well in their academics.

The study was based on the annual physical fitness assessments of more than 2.4 million students in the Texas public school system. It found that an increase in exercise enhanced the students’ ability to learn. The evidence came in the form of higher scores by physically fit children on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.

As might be expected, attendance rates were higher for students who were physically fit. Also, the study found that fitness levels dropped with each passing grade level. Elementary-age children performed the best while high school had the lowest percentage of physically fit students.
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