Health Benefits of Nature (Slide Show)

Play Outside for Improved Attention and Health!

Health Care-toon by Ed Fischer

Evidence shows how childhood ADD/ADHD, obesity, type-2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and excess stress can be positively impacted through outdoor physical activity.  Green exercise, playing outdoors has significant effect on health and learning according to the National Environmental Education Foundation.   James R. Roberts, MD assembled this research presented in a slide format.

Stress Gets Under Our Skin

Mindbody Affected by Excess Stress

Newswise reports research from UCLA identifying the neurocognitive pathways that might be involved in inflammatory responses to acute social stress.

Lead author George Slavich noted, "frequent or chronic activation of the system may increase risk for a variety of disorders, including asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and even depression.

"Although the issue is complex, one solution is not to treat negative thoughts as facts." suggested Slavich. "If you think you're being socially rejected, ask yourself, what's the evidence? If there is no evidence, then revise your belief. If you were right, then make sure you're not catastrophizing or making the worse out of the situation."

Obesity and Early CV Disease

Childhood Obesity Alone May Increase Risk of Later Cardiovascular Disease

Newswise reports research conducted at Nemours Children’s Clinic, showing that obesity alone can predispose individuals to developing cardiovascular disease early in adulthood. Abnormalities in C-reactive protein, high fibrinogen, and other markers for predicting the development of cardiovascular diseases occurred in obese children as young as age 7, long before the onset of puberty.

Nelly Mauras, MD, senior author concludes, “It would be prudent for health care providers to advise more aggressive interventions to limit calories and increase activity in “healthy” overweight children, even before the onset of puberty.

Once again Daily Physical Education with an emphasis on fitness is advocated by researchers, within the medical community.

Note: The health cartoon is taken from Health Care-toons Calendar by Jeff Haebig and cartoonist Ed Fischer.