Young Athletes Should Get Head Start on Sports Physicals

Parents should not wait until the week before school starts to get their child's sports physical exam.

"That doesn't allow time for a problem to be corrected or rehabilitated if it is detected during the exam," says Dr. Julie Jones, an assistant professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

A preparticipation exam (PPE) should include a baseline medical history and a physical exam. According to Dr. Jones, both should emphasize areas of greatest concern for sports participation, such as head or musculoskeletal injuries, cardiovascular problems and asthma.

To allow time to treat problems identified during the exam, the PPE should be performed at least six weeks before preseason practice.

- From Baylor College of Medicine

Walking vs. Jogging

Mile for mile, walking generally burns about 25 percent fewer calories than jogging and is less beneficial in terms of improving cardiovascular fitness, says Maurice Puyau, an exercise physiologist with the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

But, if you walk farther and more frequently than you would jog and keep your heart rate up while walking, don't worry. You'll burn calories and get great benefits.

Your body weight, effort level and the distance covered are the major factors that affect the number of calories you burn and the cardiovascular benefits you reap when walking or jogging.

To estimate the calories burned when walking on a flat surface, use this quick calculation:

Calories Burned = 0.57 x Your Body Weight x Miles

When jogging:

Calories Burned = 0.75 x Your Body Weight x Miles

To walk off 1 pound of fat, or 3,500 calories, a 150-pound person would need to walk 41 miles, or about 40 minutes a day, five times a week, for a month. Walking combined with small changes in your diet can significantly speed weight loss.

To get the greatest cardiovascular benefits from walking, choose a pace that allows you to talk but makes singing difficult.

- From Kids' Nutrition Q&A, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine

White Coat Hypertension Strikes Children, Too

A doctor's "white coat" can cause blood pressure in children to rise, according to results of a study presented at the Fifteenth Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension.

White coat hypertension is a phenomena where the presence of a doctor causes a patient's blood pressure to rise. It can lead to an incorrect diagnosis of hypertension and may lead to unnecessary diagnostic studies and inappropriate medication use.

In one of the few studies conducted in children, Dr. Jonathan M. Sorof, and his colleagues from the Houston Pediatric Adolescent Hypertension Program (HPAHP) at The University of Texas-Houston Medical School examined the white coat hypertension phenomena in more than 100 children.

"We found white coat hypertension is common," Dr. Sorof says. "Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring should be used to overcome the white coat effect."

Ambulatory monitoring requires patients to wear a small non-invasive device. The device automatically measures blood pressure every few minutes for 24 hours or longer. Blood pressure is measured while the patient is active or relaxed, asleep or awake.

Nearly 50 million Americans have high blood pressure. Commonly referred to as the silent killer, untreated hypertension prematurely ages the body's arteries and can lead to strokes, heart attacks and kidney failure, often without warning.

- From The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center

Secure Children Properly in Shopping Carts

Data from the National Safe Kids Campaign indicate the number of children ages 5 and under injured in shopping-cart incidents has increased more than 30 percent since 1985.

"Falls from shopping cart seats and baskets cause the most injuries, although other injuries can occur," says Dr. Jerald Zarin, medical director of Texas Children's Health Plan at Texas Children's Hospital. "When children stand up, their chances of falling or tipping the cart increase."

Parents should bring and use safety belts to restrain children in shopping cart seats. They also need to stay close to the cart and not let children stand in carts or ride on the bottom. It is best not to let a child push or steer the shopping cart.

- From Texas Children's Hospital

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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