Learn a little more...with a link!
Website Articles: KidsHealth, Staying Healthy, Keeping Fit and Having Fun | Staying healthy takes work or does it? Try these ideas.
Videos: PBS LearningMedia: HealthBeat, Get Physical | Sing & dance along while getting fit with these upbeat videos.
Website Article: Time for Kids, Health, The Best Medicine | Why is exercise good for you? Includes a video, too.
Read the script:
KIM: THE BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE WELL KNOWN. BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE IN THE GYM EVERY DAY TO REAP THE REWARDS OF EXERCISE. HERE ARE SOME TIPS FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
GET SOCIAL. INSTEAD OF GOING OUT TO EAT WITH FRIENDS, PICK A GROUP ACTIVITY INSTEAD. GO FOR A HIKE, TAKE A WALK, OR PLAY AN EXERCISE-BASED VIDEO GAME.
DO SOMETHING NEW. A NEW SKILL OR UNUSUAL ACTIVITY CAN KICKSTART YOUR MOTIVATION. TRY A DANCE CLASS OR SIGN UP FOR A SPORTS LEAGUE.
DIVE IN. IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO SWEAT IN THE HEAT, HEAD FOR THE WATER. TAKE A SWIM AT A COMMUNITY POOL, OR SIGN UP FOR A WATER AEROBICS CLASS.
STAY ON TRACK. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR ACTIVITY AND THE FOOD YOU EAT WITH WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY OR TACK ADVANTAGE OF TRACKING SITES ONLINE.
RICK: THANKS KIM. SPEAKING OF KEEPING HEALTHY, LAST WEEK WE ASKED YOU TO TELL US IF YOU HAD THE FLU THIS SEASON. ACCORDING TO OUR POLL RESULTS, 41% OF YOU DID.
BUT MAYBE SOME OF YOU WEREN'T SURE IF YOU HAD IT OR NOT. A LOT OF THE FLU'S SYMPTOMS CAN BE MISTAKEN FOR THOSE OF THE COMMON COLD. SYMPTOMS ARE THE EVIDENCE OF AN ILLNESS; SO, COUGHING, SNEEZING, ACHING, STUFF LIKE THAT.
NOW, THERE'S ONE MACHINE IN CALIFORNIA TAKING THE GUESS WORK OUT OF KNOWING WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE THE FLU. ROB FLADEBOE REPORTS.
ROB: TARA JEAN LEE HAS RECOVERED AFTER RECENTLY TESTING POSITIVE FOR THE FLU HERE AT STANFORD HEALTHCARE'S MENLO MEDICAL CLINIC IN MENLO PARK.
TARA JEAN: I WAS OUT OF WORK FOR A TOTAL OF FOUR DAYS. AND IT JUST REALLY KNOCKED ME DOWN. ROB: FORTUNATELY FOR TARA JEAN, THE CLINIC HAS ONE OF THESE. IT'S A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL, A MACHINE THAT LOOKS FOR THE FLU VIRUS IN A DIFFERENT WAY, AND IS FAR MORE EFFECTIVE THAN CONVENTIONAL TESTS, SAYS DR. ANTHONY POWELL.
DR. POWELL: THIS TEST USES NUCLEIC ACID AMPLIFICATION. IT'S VERY SENSITIVE. SO FOR INFLUENZA B IT'S NEARLY 100% SENSITIVE INFLUENZA A IT'S MORE THAN 95% SENSITIVE. SO IT'S MUCH, MUCH BETTER.
ROB: TRADITIONAL RAPID FLU TESTS, STILL THE MOST COMMON TYPE, REQUIRES A SWAB DEEP IN THE NASAL CAVITY AND ARE JUST 50-70% ACCURATE, SAYS THE CDC, WHICH CAN PRODUCE FALSE NEGATIVES, MEANING A PATIENT WITH THE FLU MAY NOT KNOW IT.
DR. POWELL: RIGHT, SO WE CAN GET YOU TREATED WHEN YOU NEED TO HAVE THE THERAPY, AND WE CAN FEEL CONFIDENT THAT YOU HAVE THE FLU AND OUR TEST IS ACCURATE. AND IF WE TREAT YOU, IF YOU HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS THAT ARE LIKELY TO BE EXPOSED, WE CAN ALSO GIVE THEM TAMIFLU PROPHYLACTICALLY SO THEY DON'T GET THE FLU. SO THAT CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF CUTTING DOWN THE SPREAD OF THE FLU.
ROB: AND THAT IS HUGE, GIVEN THE FACT THAT THE CDC ALSO SAYS THAT THE FLU VACCINE IS JUST 36% EFFECTIVE OVERALL IN PREVENTING FLU ILLNESS. THE MACHINES HAVE BEEN FINDING THEIR WAY INTO MORE AND MORE CLINICS LIKE THIS ONE AND MAY WELL BE HELPING TO SAVE LIVES.
TARA JEAN: I MEAN, I KNEW RIGHT THEN AND THERE ON THE SPOT AS SOON AS THEY RAN THE TEST. THE DOCTOR CAME IN AND SAID, "YOU'RE POSITIVE," AND WAS ABLE TO TREAT ME RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT.