View Positive Choice’s new 10-minute total-body, strength band exercise video . Look under the fitness tab on this site. Exercise Physiologists, Chris Heslin and Nicole Meichtry lead you through a quick strength training session that you can do on the road, at your desk, or anywhere you can move around. Two fitness levels for each exercise are provided so that anyone at any fitness level can...
Read MoreThe Positive Choice Wellness Weight Programs are on the ballot for the San Diego Union Tribune’s BEST READER’S POLL, 2013. We could use your vote! We are listed under the Healthy Living/Weight Loss Clinic. You can vote once a day until July 7th. Click on the link below to cast your votes! www.sdbestpoll.com ...
Read MoreKaiser Permanente is sponsoring the launch of a three-part documentary film series, The Weight of the Nation for Kids, on HBO. As part of the organization’s continued efforts to promote a national conversation about obesity, Kaiser Permanente is sponsoring the launch of a three-part film series, The Weight of the Nation for Kids, which premieres May 7 on HBO. In addition to HBO, Kaiser Permanente is partnering with the Institute of Medicine, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on this launch. Each film in the series spotlights youth who are taking the initiative to change the food and physical activity environments in their communities to combat the growing childhood obesity epidemic. Childhood obesity remains a pressing health issue, and there is an urgent and unmet need to inform communities about its risk factors. According to a recent national survey by the Institute of Medicine, at least 34 percent of American adults are overweight, and an additional 34 percent are obese. Among children, 32 percent meet the definition of being overweight or obese, with more than half of those in the obese category. A Groundbreaking Documentary The Weight of the Nation for Kids will help to increase national awareness and public engagement, inspiring kids to make healthy change happen in their own communities. The films contain critical and useful information we can apply to our own lives and share with our families, members, patients and communities. “Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions and has led to chronic conditions among our nation’s youth,” said Raymond J. Baxter, PhD, Kaiser Permanente’s senior vice president for Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy. “It’s clear that we must act now to improve the environments in which we live, work, learn and play.” The documentaries use scientific fact and compelling testimonials to illustrate the health consequences of obesity and excess weight in youth. They share inspiring stories of perseverance and drive, highlighting youth groups and individuals who have made real progress in improving the health of their schools and communities. The films include: The Great Cafeteria Takeover, which follows a group of kids in New Orleans who set out to make a difference in their community during the...
Read MoreThe Slim Down Full Food Program The Positive Choice Wellness Center is starting a new, low-cost, suppport option for wieght loss, March 2013. This new program will help people lose weight using a wholesome, fresh food diet combined with gentle exercise. The program includes weekly classes on nutrition/fitness education and support for behavior modification. The fee for the twelve-week Slim Down Full Food Program is $200. Call the Positive Choice Wellness Center to enroll. (858)...
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Sleeping Less in San Diego Can it Make You Sick, Fat, or Worse? By Vicki Pepper MS, RD If you are lucky, you will spend one-third of your life sleeping… and the other two-thirds of your life will be profoundly influenced by the quality and quantity of that sleep! Even one night of inadequate sleep can ruin your mood, impair your judgment, and sour your interactions with others. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night. However, if you are typical, you are getting less sleep than that, and possibly less sleep with each passing year. Before the invention of the light bulb, the average American slept nearly ten hours a night. There’s only so much you can do by candle light! The next 50 years saw only a slight decrease in average sleep times. However, National Sleep Foundation Polls in 2005 and 2012 showed slumber decreased to seven hours by 2005 and continued to drop to an average of just 6.2 hours of sleep by 2012. That is a drop of about three hours per night since the late 19th century; a drop of two hours per night over the past 50 years and about a forty minute drop a night just since 2005. If sleep is so important, how is it we value it so little? One reason may be that we are not good at recognizing the negative effects of too little sleep. A study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania restricted people to less than six hours of sleep per night for two weeks; only a half hour less than the current national average. Over the two-week study, the volunteers reported only a small increase in sleepiness and rated themselves as “functioning normally.” However, when they were tested for memory, problem solving, and reaction times, their mental and physical abilities worsened progressively over the two-week study. In fact, their abilities deteriorated to such a degree that by the end of two weeks, the sleep deprived volunteers were as impaired as people who had stayed awake continuously for 48 hours. Culturally we pride ourselves on needing little sleep. It’s not cool to be the one who goes to bed early. Pulling all-nighters and...
Read MoreKaiser Permanente provides FREE Wellness Coaching by Phone; this personalized service assists you in reaching your lifestyle and wellness goals. Coaching is provided on five topics: Quit Tobacco; Get Active; Eat Healthy; Manage Weight; or Reduce Stress. Wellness Coaches partner with you to focus on healthy habits, create a customized plan, and schedule convenient telephone sessions. Wellness coaches use an evidence-based methodology to help boost your motivation and confidence to be successful. Must be a member of the Kaiser Permanente health Plan to participate. No referral is needed to access wellness coaching. Members can call the new phone number, (866) 862-4295, for an appointment. Wellness Coaching by Phone is available Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 7...
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