Personal Space for the Individual Member
Personal Space is dedicated to wellness for medical families
You'll find articles and information of unique interest to the medical family.
How do you keep fit?
What are the most fun, most successful ways you have found to be physically active? Is this something you do on your own, with your family, or through the Alliance? What challenges have you faced that have prevented you from increasing your fitness level? Tell us at amaa@ama-assn.org.
Keeping The Mind Sharp
Check out the list of Book Recommendations from Alliance Book Clubs, and get reading! Check out the new Virtual Book Club for those dedicated readers.
Be Active Your Way Quiz
Click here to take the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Be Active Your Way quiz. This easy and fun widget can even be added to your web site or blog. Add the quiz to your iPhone by navigating to the healthfinder.gov Web site on your iPhone and select "Add to Home Screen."
Healthy Lifestyles e-Letter
The American Medical Association Prevention and Healthy Lifestyles department announces its latest resource for physicians and other health care providers. The new Healthy Lifestyles e-Letter provides information and tools that can assist in offering patients counseling on the four key lifestyle behaviors and their health consequences: (1) Poor diet, (2) Physical inactivity, (3) Tobacco use and (4) Excessive or risky use of alcohol . Read the first issue and subscribe.
AMA Toolkit for Physician Health
Check back for the new "Physicians' Health Guide," now being created. In the meantime, check out AMA's Healthier Life Steps toolkit at www.ama-assn.org/go/healthierlifesteps. Physicians will be eligible to receive CME credit for reading the Health Guide and completing an online post-test and evaluation
Fast Food Facts
For many people eating on the go is a great alternative for a busy lifestyle. But these types of foods often are high in calories, served in larger portions, full of flavor but low in nutritional value...Click here to read more...
Environmental Factors Contribute to Obesity Prevalence Among Low-Income Children
A report from the CDC found that the prevalence of obesity among low-income children is widespread due environmental, social and educational factors. Click here to read more...
Proximity of Fast Food Restaurants and Adolescent Obesity
For adolescents and teens, healthy eating is often determined by two factors -- convenience and proximity. Click here to read more...
CDC-TV series "Finding a Balance" provides expert perspectives on caloric or "energy" balance and personal stories of how individuals have made changes in their lives to achieve this balance. This video builds upon resources available from CDC'S Healthy Weight Website. Click here to watch or download the video.
CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity
Visit the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity which is working to reduce obesity and obesity-related diseases with resources for health professionals and everyone.
CDC Information for Family Health
Check out the latest CDC information for family health. You can add the "Five Minutes or Less Health Widget" to any Web site, so you and your visitors can learn how to stay safe and healthy in five minutes or less. The widget is updated with a new five-minute tip each week. Add This Widget to Your Website.
Web MD
A popular well-designed site with general information about Health Conditions (A -Z), Drugs and Supplements, Living Better, Healthy Eating and Diet, Parenting and Pregnancy, and Mental Health, plus an inter-active symptom checker, message boards, RSS Feeds and plenty of personal health assessment tools.
http://www.webmd.com/
Women's Health
Visit CDC's Women Health Web site for information about women's health. Topic areas include Science and Research, Health and Wellness, Programs and Partnerships and Conferences and Events.
www.cdc.gov/women
CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO)
Take a look at DNPAO's Web site. It contains a wealth of information on achieving a healthy weight, nutrition, physical activity and the rise of overweight and obesity in America.
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/index.html
Defining Overweight and Obesity
Childhood Overweight and Obesity
Set realistic goals!
A healthy diet and regular physical activity can easily be achieved by making some of these easy, conscious decisions:
Eat breakfast every day. When you don't eat breakfast, you are likely to make up for the calories you saved by eating more later on in the day. Choose a quick, healthy breakfast option such as yogurt with fruit or toast with sliced banana and a bit of peanut butter. Many people who maintain long-term weight loss eat breakfast daily.
Drink water. Make water more appealing by keeping it cold in the fridge or adding a slice of fruit for flavor. Choosing water keeps you from drinking something else that may be loaded with calories and sugar. People who drink sugar-sweetened beverages tend to consume more calories.
Eat smaller food portions. When eating out, save some of your meal and take it home to make another meal or split one meal between two people. At home, try putting only the amount you want to eat in a small bowl and don't go back for more. People eat more when confronted with larger portion sizes. For more, see How to Avoid Portion Size Pitfalls to Help Manage Your Weight.
Maintain your physical activity routine. Regular physical activity is an important part of maintaining weight loss. Keep up your good habits before, during, and after the New Year. If you need extra encouragement, be physically active with a friend or relative or start an activity that may have always interested you, such as gardening or bicycling. For more, see Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight.
Prepare a healthy lunch at home and take it to work. Taking your lunch to work helps you avoid last-minute lunch choices, which often result in selecting high-fat and high-calorie options. Think about healthy lunches before your next trip to the grocery store, and stock up on healthy food items so that making your lunch will be easy.
More than one third of U.S. adults are obese. Weight gain occurs when you consume more calories than your body uses. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight will help you prevent and control many diseases and conditions. The key is FINDING A BALANCE in your lifestyle that includes healthy eating and regular physical activity.
Get Active, Healthy and Happy!
Make a goal with a friend to achieve the new Physical Activity Guidelines! Visit CDC's Physical Activity for Everyone for details including guidelines for adults, children and older adults.
The Sandwich Generation
The Sandwich Generation: Caught in Between
You finally find the missing shoe strategically hidden under your kid's backpack as you rush him to school. After dropping him and his siblings off, you drive over to your mother's place to check on her and pay some of her bills and get a little yard work done. Then you head to your local Alliance meeting to plan next weekend's fundraiser. Back to school to pick up the kids and drive them to karate and soccer. You finally head home to have the kids help stuff fundraiser invitations and call the in-laws to check on them. Click here to read more...
