News Archive
Kids urged to do something different
By Francess Sykes
KIDS TV presenter and former Pop Idol Mark Rhodes aims to get a million children to get fit through hip hop dancing.
The ‘Do Something Different’ scheme has been formed to promote healthier lifestyles and is part of Mark and sidekick Sam Nixon’s goal to get one million kids to try something new before the end of the summer.
It comes after Mark was entered into the UK Hip Hop Crew Championships and had two weeks to train as a freestyler for the show.
The BBC teamed up with iDance to enter Mark into the the iDance championships.
Chairman of iDance Foundation Omar Paloma said: “I loved the idea. This project was right up our alley.
“It’s great because it works on two levels, first kids’ natural curiosity is sparked by the challenge and second the basic suggestion is to do healthy fun things.”
Omar told Future Fitness that the programme has come at the right time because physical fitness and physical education seem to be taking a back seat in many kids’ lives.
He said: “Many schools are failing to provide adequate PE, one London school is being rebuilt without playgrounds or play areas.
“The ultimate goal and implicit suggestion of this programme is to make healthier choices while facing up to a new and exciting challenge.”
Co-director of iDance Julie Paloma added hip hop dance appeals to more than traditional ballet or disco.
She added: “Anyone of any shape or size can get involved. The UK Hip Hop Championships are about opportunity and reaching people outside of the mainstream. We also want to encourage people in the mainstream to ‘do something different’.”
By Francess Sykes
KIDS TV presenter and former Pop Idol Mark Rhodes aims to get a million children to get fit through hip hop dancing.
The ‘Do Something Different’ scheme has been formed to promote healthier lifestyles and is part of Mark and sidekick Sam Nixon’s goal to get one million kids to try something new before the end of the summer.
It comes after Mark was entered into the UK Hip Hop Crew Championships and had two weeks to train as a freestyler for the show.
The BBC teamed up with iDance to enter Mark into the the iDance championships.
Chairman of iDance Foundation Omar Paloma said: “I loved the idea. This project was right up our alley.
“It’s great because it works on two levels, first kids’ natural curiosity is sparked by the challenge and second the basic suggestion is to do healthy fun things.”
Omar told Future Fitness that the programme has come at the right time because physical fitness and physical education seem to be taking a back seat in many kids’ lives.
He said: “Many schools are failing to provide adequate PE, one London school is being rebuilt without playgrounds or play areas.
“The ultimate goal and implicit suggestion of this programme is to make healthier choices while facing up to a new and exciting challenge.”
Co-director of iDance Julie Paloma added hip hop dance appeals to more than traditional ballet or disco.
She added: “Anyone of any shape or size can get involved. The UK Hip Hop Championships are about opportunity and reaching people outside of the mainstream. We also want to encourage people in the mainstream to ‘do something different’.”
Dance increases fitness of girls dramatically
By Francess Sykes
A STUDY into the effects of dance on the health of the nation's children has revealed it can increase the fitness level of girls dramatically.
The NRG Youth Dance and Health Project assessed the effects of a ten-week creative dance programme on the health and fitness characteristics of school children aged 11-14.
The project was undertaken on 348 young people in seven schools across seven local authority and unitary districts.
A spokesman for Laban's who undertook the study said: "We now have the scientific proof that creative dance makes you fitter.
"Particularly pleasing is the dramatic increase found in female fitness, as this is the age group for which females are known to reduce their level of physical activity."
The results revealed that average armstring flexibility scores rose from 10.5 cm to 11 cm in males and from 15.5 cm to 17.2 cm in females.
The number of shuttle runs for the males rose from 27 to 28 and the females from 15.5 to 22.5.
The spokesman added: "This is possibly due to their initial lack of fitness and overall greater motivation, in comparison to males.
"Studies have shown that those who are involved in activity in their youth will carry that involvement through to adulthood, thus reducing risks of heart disease and other health related problems."
Culture Minister David Lammy said: "Dance is too often the forgotten artform in the UKís cultural life.
"And yet it can play an important role in developing the physical wellbeing and creativity of young people.
"The publication, backed by the research, is a step in the right direction to put Dance on the map."
Public Health Minister Caroline Flint added: "Dance has a great deal to offer to young people, irrespective of ability and background.
"Dance can take many forms and embody elements of fun, creativity and performance that make it an attractive route to a fitter and healthier lifestyle. This research highlights how well people's health can benefit from dance."
By Francess Sykes
A STUDY into the effects of dance on the health of the nation's children has revealed it can increase the fitness level of girls dramatically.
The NRG Youth Dance and Health Project assessed the effects of a ten-week creative dance programme on the health and fitness characteristics of school children aged 11-14.
The project was undertaken on 348 young people in seven schools across seven local authority and unitary districts.
A spokesman for Laban's who undertook the study said: "We now have the scientific proof that creative dance makes you fitter.
"Particularly pleasing is the dramatic increase found in female fitness, as this is the age group for which females are known to reduce their level of physical activity."
The results revealed that average armstring flexibility scores rose from 10.5 cm to 11 cm in males and from 15.5 cm to 17.2 cm in females.
The number of shuttle runs for the males rose from 27 to 28 and the females from 15.5 to 22.5.
The spokesman added: "This is possibly due to their initial lack of fitness and overall greater motivation, in comparison to males.
"Studies have shown that those who are involved in activity in their youth will carry that involvement through to adulthood, thus reducing risks of heart disease and other health related problems."
Culture Minister David Lammy said: "Dance is too often the forgotten artform in the UKís cultural life.
"And yet it can play an important role in developing the physical wellbeing and creativity of young people.
"The publication, backed by the research, is a step in the right direction to put Dance on the map."
Public Health Minister Caroline Flint added: "Dance has a great deal to offer to young people, irrespective of ability and background.
"Dance can take many forms and embody elements of fun, creativity and performance that make it an attractive route to a fitter and healthier lifestyle. This research highlights how well people's health can benefit from dance."
New complex is one of the best in UK
By Francess Sykes
OLYMPIC gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes officially opened a state-of-the-art sports facility, ranked one of the best in UK, at a school in Manchester.
The £3.7million sports complex at Manchester High School for Girls boasts a fully-equipped fitness suite with 16 aerobic machines and 12 weight stations.
Its sports hall is the size of four badminton courts and can accommodate most indoor sports.
It also contains a floor-to-ceiling climbing wall, a spectators’ gallery, air-conditioned dance studio with electric windows and full-length mirrors.
The school’s headmistress Mrs Christine Jones said: “We spent many hours working on the design specifications with the architects but even I never imagined the final building would be so fantastic.
“Our expectations have been exceeded and I am thrilled that our girls have such high quality sporting facilities.
“It has taken years of planning and months of construction to get to this stage, and the school is indebted for the time and generosity of so many people, but we now have facilities worthy of future Olympians.”
Head of PE, Sarah Newman, added: “Physical education plays a crucial role in the school’s curriculum as it not only teaches our girls about teamwork and communication, but it also instills virtues of tolerance, honesty and courtesy.”
After cutting the ribbon to the new building, Dame Kelly changed into her sportswear to lead a training session for the school’s elite sporting stars, many of whom are aspiring Olympians.
Dame Kelly said: “Sport has always been a huge part of my life from when I was very young and it can help with confidence and self-esteem and so many other skills you need when you leave school and go into the wider world.
“I initially tried a number of sports such as martial arts, volleyball and horse riding – I even joined a majorette troupe but gave that up because I didn’t like the uniform – but it was my PE teacher who encouraged me to try athletics.
“My message to the girls would be to never have self-doubt.
“There are so many great opportunities and a huge range of sports to try at this school they just give it a go.”
By Francess Sykes
OLYMPIC gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes officially opened a state-of-the-art sports facility, ranked one of the best in UK, at a school in Manchester.
The £3.7million sports complex at Manchester High School for Girls boasts a fully-equipped fitness suite with 16 aerobic machines and 12 weight stations.
Its sports hall is the size of four badminton courts and can accommodate most indoor sports.
It also contains a floor-to-ceiling climbing wall, a spectators’ gallery, air-conditioned dance studio with electric windows and full-length mirrors.
The school’s headmistress Mrs Christine Jones said: “We spent many hours working on the design specifications with the architects but even I never imagined the final building would be so fantastic.
“Our expectations have been exceeded and I am thrilled that our girls have such high quality sporting facilities.
“It has taken years of planning and months of construction to get to this stage, and the school is indebted for the time and generosity of so many people, but we now have facilities worthy of future Olympians.”
Head of PE, Sarah Newman, added: “Physical education plays a crucial role in the school’s curriculum as it not only teaches our girls about teamwork and communication, but it also instills virtues of tolerance, honesty and courtesy.”
After cutting the ribbon to the new building, Dame Kelly changed into her sportswear to lead a training session for the school’s elite sporting stars, many of whom are aspiring Olympians.
Dame Kelly said: “Sport has always been a huge part of my life from when I was very young and it can help with confidence and self-esteem and so many other skills you need when you leave school and go into the wider world.
“I initially tried a number of sports such as martial arts, volleyball and horse riding – I even joined a majorette troupe but gave that up because I didn’t like the uniform – but it was my PE teacher who encouraged me to try athletics.
“My message to the girls would be to never have self-doubt.
“There are so many great opportunities and a huge range of sports to try at this school they just give it a go.”
Impact of exercise on body fat
By Francess Sykes
THE impact of exercise on body fat differs for boys and girls, research has revealed.
Researches at Trinity College, Dublin on behalf of the British Journal of Sports Medicine investigated the relationship between the intensity of physical activity, inactivity, cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition in 7-10-year-old Dublin children.
Researcher Juleitte Hussey said: "Recommendations on exercise to curb the rising tide of obesity in children have tended to take a unisex approach.
"But from this and a number of previous studies it could be suggested that boys need to perform higher amounts of daily physical activity for healthy body composition."
Of the children studied one in five was overweight, and six per cent were obese and more boys than girls were obese.
Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured in all the children, using a validated running test, and the amount of exercise taken over a period of four days assessed in 152.
Boys exercised hard twice as often as girls. On average, they spent more than an hour a day, exercising vigorously. Girls spent just over half an hour a day.
Overall, all the children who scored well on measures of cardiorespiratory fitness were significantly leaner and had smaller waists than those whose fitness levels were poor.
Boys tended to be more physically fit than the girls. But the amount of hard exercise taken regularly had a direct impact only on the boysí weight.
Unlike the girls, those boys who did the least hard exercise were the fattest. And those who led a predominantly sedentary lifestyle had the thickest waists.
The authors suggest that the current measure of body mass index (BMI) may be inadequate, by itself, to determine the extent of cardiovascular risk in children and adolescents.
Juliette said: "Generally the recommendations for physical activity are the same for both genders - at least 60 minutes and up to several hours per day of at least moderate intensity physical activity.
This lower cut of 60 minutes of moderate intensity activity may be too low and in this study boys of normal weight were spending almost two hours per day in at least moderate intensity activity and girls of normal weight were spending at least 1.5 hours of such a level.
"At this stage we cannot say specifically what they should be doing but would believe that an accumulation of physical activity lasting between 1.5 to two hours per day in girls and at two to 2.5 hours per day in boys would be beneficial."
By Francess Sykes
THE impact of exercise on body fat differs for boys and girls, research has revealed.
Researches at Trinity College, Dublin on behalf of the British Journal of Sports Medicine investigated the relationship between the intensity of physical activity, inactivity, cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition in 7-10-year-old Dublin children.
Researcher Juleitte Hussey said: "Recommendations on exercise to curb the rising tide of obesity in children have tended to take a unisex approach.
"But from this and a number of previous studies it could be suggested that boys need to perform higher amounts of daily physical activity for healthy body composition."
Of the children studied one in five was overweight, and six per cent were obese and more boys than girls were obese.
Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured in all the children, using a validated running test, and the amount of exercise taken over a period of four days assessed in 152.
Boys exercised hard twice as often as girls. On average, they spent more than an hour a day, exercising vigorously. Girls spent just over half an hour a day.
Overall, all the children who scored well on measures of cardiorespiratory fitness were significantly leaner and had smaller waists than those whose fitness levels were poor.
Boys tended to be more physically fit than the girls. But the amount of hard exercise taken regularly had a direct impact only on the boysí weight.
Unlike the girls, those boys who did the least hard exercise were the fattest. And those who led a predominantly sedentary lifestyle had the thickest waists.
The authors suggest that the current measure of body mass index (BMI) may be inadequate, by itself, to determine the extent of cardiovascular risk in children and adolescents.
Juliette said: "Generally the recommendations for physical activity are the same for both genders - at least 60 minutes and up to several hours per day of at least moderate intensity physical activity.
This lower cut of 60 minutes of moderate intensity activity may be too low and in this study boys of normal weight were spending almost two hours per day in at least moderate intensity activity and girls of normal weight were spending at least 1.5 hours of such a level.
"At this stage we cannot say specifically what they should be doing but would believe that an accumulation of physical activity lasting between 1.5 to two hours per day in girls and at two to 2.5 hours per day in boys would be beneficial."
'Wright way' will attract kids to PE
EXCLUSIVE By Francess Sykes
FOOTBALL legend Ian Wright is calling on the government to give teachers a bonus for taking after school fitness sessions.
The former England and Arsenal star has joined a campaign to increase childrenís participation in PE - a project which has attracted one million school children to sign up since its launch in February.
But, he says, the Government need to act now to prevent the obesity epidemic getting out of hand by asking inspectors to mark schools on the quality of their PE offering and give teacherís bonuses to do extra out of school sessions.
In an exclusive interview with Future Fitness, he said: "My ideal goal is to get PE into the league tables so that schools can be judged on the PE of the school as well as English and Maths.
"If we can get PE put into the league tables that will make the schools have to put more emphasis on it.
"I don't think people realise how important childhood obesity is.
The government will leave childhood obesity until we're not going to be able to catch it, and it will run away with everyone.
"They have so many different things going on that they don't know what their left hand is doing from their right. We are not getting the backing from them but they will have to come on board at some stage. What we are doing is a success - all we have to do is keep doing it."
Ian added that extra investments into school sporting facilities would save the Government millions in the future - as it would cut NHS spending to deal with illnesses related to obesity.
He is supporting the Fit for Sport and Next Generation Fitter Schools UK challenge and the winning school will get a £45,000 bonus from Life Fitness which includes equipment and tuition.
Ian is in talks with TV companies for a second series of 'Ian Wright's Unfit Kids' and admitted he resorted to bribery to get his last kids through the training programme.
He added: "I would do anything to make them do it - if they wanted trainers, they got them. Giving incentives can only be a good thing."
EXCLUSIVE By Francess Sykes
FOOTBALL legend Ian Wright is calling on the government to give teachers a bonus for taking after school fitness sessions.
The former England and Arsenal star has joined a campaign to increase childrenís participation in PE - a project which has attracted one million school children to sign up since its launch in February.
But, he says, the Government need to act now to prevent the obesity epidemic getting out of hand by asking inspectors to mark schools on the quality of their PE offering and give teacherís bonuses to do extra out of school sessions.
In an exclusive interview with Future Fitness, he said: "My ideal goal is to get PE into the league tables so that schools can be judged on the PE of the school as well as English and Maths.
"If we can get PE put into the league tables that will make the schools have to put more emphasis on it.
"I don't think people realise how important childhood obesity is.
The government will leave childhood obesity until we're not going to be able to catch it, and it will run away with everyone.
"They have so many different things going on that they don't know what their left hand is doing from their right. We are not getting the backing from them but they will have to come on board at some stage. What we are doing is a success - all we have to do is keep doing it."
Ian added that extra investments into school sporting facilities would save the Government millions in the future - as it would cut NHS spending to deal with illnesses related to obesity.
He is supporting the Fit for Sport and Next Generation Fitter Schools UK challenge and the winning school will get a £45,000 bonus from Life Fitness which includes equipment and tuition.
Ian is in talks with TV companies for a second series of 'Ian Wright's Unfit Kids' and admitted he resorted to bribery to get his last kids through the training programme.
He added: "I would do anything to make them do it - if they wanted trainers, they got them. Giving incentives can only be a good thing."
£6.6m boost for academy
By Francess Sykes
YORKSHIRE Forward is investing £6.62 million in the regeneration of Central Park in Scunthorpe which will include the development of a high quality sports academy.
The sports academy will become a centre of excellence for sports and recreation, and a hub for the development and delivery of sports, education and leadership training for North Lincolnshire.
Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, Cllr Liz Redfern, said: "I am delighted with Yorkshire Forwardís decision to award up to £6.62 million towards the project.
"This decision is a massive boost for Scunthorpe and the whole of North Lincolnshire as well as being a massive boost for our young people.
"Never before have we had such a grand-scale leisure complex fit for the 21st Century. Together with the improvements to Central Park, this is a huge project where people will see a real difference."
A winning design for the sports academy and Central Park was chosen as part of a competition which involved consultation with Scunthorpe Town Team, Yorkshire Forward, North Lincolnshire Council and the public.
The design will consist of six pods to be covered in heather and grass and it is thought to be the first time this type of construction will be used for a major leisure project in this country.
The pods will hold an eight lane, 25 metre swimming pool, a learner pool, a six court sports hall, a 75 station fitness suite, dance studio and crËche.
The design consultants, Andrew Wright Associates, will now develop a more detailed design to submit for planning permission in Spring 2007.
Jim Pearson, chair of the Scunthorpe Town Team, added: "The Scunthorpe Town Team has worked with Yorkshire Forward and the Council over the past four years to develop a framework to transform the town over the next 20 years.
"I am looking forward to seeing the Academy develop. These facilities will provide wonderful opportunities for both the children of Scunthorpe and will leave a legacy for future generations."
By Francess Sykes
YORKSHIRE Forward is investing £6.62 million in the regeneration of Central Park in Scunthorpe which will include the development of a high quality sports academy.
The sports academy will become a centre of excellence for sports and recreation, and a hub for the development and delivery of sports, education and leadership training for North Lincolnshire.
Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, Cllr Liz Redfern, said: "I am delighted with Yorkshire Forwardís decision to award up to £6.62 million towards the project.
"This decision is a massive boost for Scunthorpe and the whole of North Lincolnshire as well as being a massive boost for our young people.
"Never before have we had such a grand-scale leisure complex fit for the 21st Century. Together with the improvements to Central Park, this is a huge project where people will see a real difference."
A winning design for the sports academy and Central Park was chosen as part of a competition which involved consultation with Scunthorpe Town Team, Yorkshire Forward, North Lincolnshire Council and the public.
The design will consist of six pods to be covered in heather and grass and it is thought to be the first time this type of construction will be used for a major leisure project in this country.
The pods will hold an eight lane, 25 metre swimming pool, a learner pool, a six court sports hall, a 75 station fitness suite, dance studio and crËche.
The design consultants, Andrew Wright Associates, will now develop a more detailed design to submit for planning permission in Spring 2007.
Jim Pearson, chair of the Scunthorpe Town Team, added: "The Scunthorpe Town Team has worked with Yorkshire Forward and the Council over the past four years to develop a framework to transform the town over the next 20 years.
"I am looking forward to seeing the Academy develop. These facilities will provide wonderful opportunities for both the children of Scunthorpe and will leave a legacy for future generations."
