Thirty years ago, 42% of children walked or biked to school. Today, that number has shrunk to 15%, along with a coincident rise in childhood asthma and obesity.

A growing movement – developed through the CDC’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Program – encourages parents to partner with schools and communities to create safe routes to and from school. Called KidsWalk-to-School, the program focuses on physical activity, supervision, and social interaction. An added benefit? Fewer cars on the road means decreased congestion and danger.

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/kidswalk.

How to Quit

Government Resources

• Smokefree.gov
  A Web site dedicated to helping you quit smoking.
• Smokefree Women
  A Web site that helps women quit smoking.
• Smokefree QuitGuide App
  Smokefree QuitGuide app for your smartphone available from iTunes.
• 1-800-QUIT-NOW
  A free, phone-based service with educational materials and coaches that can help you quit smoking or chewing tobacco.

HALLMARK INTRODUCED 100^thBIRTHDAY CARDS IN 1998 – by 2007, SALES WERE 85,000 A YEAR”

The Christian Science Monitor,April 19, 2010

“85% OF AMERICAL CENTENARIANS ARE FEMALE; 1 OUT OF 11 IS AFRICAN-AMERICAN”

The Christian Science Monitor, April 19, 2010

LIVE TO BE OVER 100?  WHY NOT?

As he hits 90 this month, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens often still plays a game of tennis before a day on the bench and only now is the respected jurist planning to leave the court. It is a measure of society’s changing ideas of ‘old age’ that Justice Steven’s advanced years and his vibrant mental capabilities have drawn little media attention. Indeed, life span may be as much a matter of attitude as anything else. Today’s researchers are scrambling to explain the rapid rise in Americans who are 100 or older. The numbers of centenarians has increased 35% from 1990 to 2000, and may have risen 50% in the past decade. This century, the growth rate may be 60% per decade. One study predicts that half of all children born since 2000 could live to 104. While research on aging often focuses on physical lifestyle, family background, and medical care, more attention is being paid to how people mentally work at battling notions of decline. How well do they negotiate life’s troubles? What role does humor play? How outgoing are they? (One way to know seniors want to keep alert: they keep balancing their own checkbooks.) In general, those who reject retirement and a later life of leisure in favor of work or volunteering seems to have a leg up in adding bonus years. Giving to others and to future generations is also a gift of life to one’s self.

The Christian Science Monitor, April 19, 2010

Let's eat for the health of it!