Child Passenger Deaths Drop

Child passenger deaths have dropped by 43% over the past 10 years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The decrease in such deaths is being attributed to improved education. More parents are buckling up their children or using appropriately sized child restraints to reduce injuries and deaths in the event of an accident.

While this is great news, motor vehicle accidents remain a leading cause of death in children – mainly because of poorly installed child safety seats or a failure to use them. The same report found that almost 50% African Americans, 46% Hispanics, and 26% Caucasian children who die in crashes to so because they were not properly fastened into their booster seat or car seat, or their seat belt wasn’t even connected.

Interestingly enough, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands require child safety seats. Forty-eight states require boost seats for older or larger toddlers. Only Florida and South Dakota do not have such a law. Only California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, and New York require seat belts on school buses. Texas requires them for school buses that were purchased after September 2010.

Although child passenger deaths are down, the overall rates are still high. The CDC reports that one in three children who died in 2011 did so because they were not buckled into their seat or a safety seat. These are completely unnecessary deaths. Buckle up your child, parents!

They key to keeping your child safe on the road takes a few simple steps:

1. Use car seats, booster seats, and seat belts in the back seats – every time you leave the house! Even if you’re heading across the street to the convenience store, you never know what could happen in a split second on the road. The CDC has guidelines for seats for children up to adult.

2. Install your safety seats properly. Manufacturers include instructions with the seats that follow all safety guidelines. If you are struggling with installation, ask for help. Your local health department or the police department can assist you with ensuring your seat is properly installed.

3. Make sure all children age 12 and younger are buckled into the back seat. Studies have shown that the airbags in the passenger side seats can do more harm to a small child if deployed. Play taxi driver, and put them in the back where they are far safer.

Overall Motor Vehicle Crashes

Pennsylvania is ranked as the 5^th highest in medical and work loss costs due to motor vehicle crashes. Crashes annually cost the state around $1.52 billion in medical costs and lost productivity/wages. California was ranked highest at $4.16 billion, Texas was at $3.5 billion, Florida at 3.16 billion and Georgia at 1.55 billion.

According to the CDC, more than 30,000 people are killed in motor vehicle crashes each year. Three key areas are attributed to the high number of crashes: impaired driving, lack of seat belt use, and inexperienced teen drivers.

The best mode of prevention is common sense. Don’t get behind the wheel if you’ve been drinking. Use your seatbelt. Provide guidance to inexperienced new drivers. Together as a community, we can be healthier and safer – with common sense.

References

Governors Highway Safety Association. (2014). Child passenger safety laws. Retrieved from http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/childsafety_laws.html.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Prevention policies. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/costs/policy.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). State-based costs of deaths from crashes. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/statecosts/index.html.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). CDC study shows that child passenger deaths have decreased 43% from 2002-2011. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0204-child-passenger-deaths.html.

Les Mills - Helping to Combat Obesity

Two years ago, a friend of mine convinced me to try a group fitness class at the Meadville Family YMCA. At the time, I wasn’t a huge fan of group workouts, but I also understood that some people thrived on them.

Yet, what I attended was a bit more than just an hour of exercise with a group of people. It was an experience. It was a Les Mills BodyPump^TM class. Although you may have heard about this class, you may not realize that it’s more than just weightlifting to music. It’s actually a fitness movement…a public health initiative.

The whole Les Mills story is unique and has moved into the public health realm to combat the obesity crisis around the globe. It all began with the vision of one New Zealand Olympic athlete – Les Mills. He competed in four Olympic games from the 1960s and into the 1970s. During that time, Les and his wife, Colleen, opened up their first gym in Auckland, NZ – a place to help others become fit and strong.

In 1990, Les created a group strength training regime he called “Pump,” which rapidly soared in popularity across New Zealand and Australia. The group class focused on proper weight lifting technique and was choreographed to current popular music. As people were gaining strength and fitness, the craze of Pump spread internationally. In 1997, the program was renamed “BodyPump” and remains the same today.

Les Mills International has grown to include 15,000 licensed facilities and 100,000 instructors across 80 different countries. It offers 12 group fitness programs, all focused on one thing: getting people more active and fit in order to reverse the worldwide obesity epidemic. According to the Les Mills philosophy: “We aim to help others around the globe by increasing awareness…and putting energy into important causes.”

Kudos to Les Mills for starting a movement to combat obesity! There are many ways that public health professionals look at reversing this chronic disease. While group exercise may not be for everyone, it certainly is one method that can work. Today, after two years’ of group fitness participation, I got addicted. I am now among those 100,000 instructors certified to teach BodyPump^TM anywhere in the world.

Group fitness has turned out to be one of many worldwide efforts to reduce obesity through physical activity. Whether you participate or not, you might be interested in the many benefits of working out with others. Here are five benefits noted by the American College of Sports Medicine:

1. It offers the opportunity to feel young again. Children and youth spend time together, play together, chat with one another, and enjoy each other’s company. As adults, we often do not take time to just be with friends. Group exercise offers that benefit.

2. Exposure to an effective and safe workout. A personal trainer is often pricey, but in a group setting, you can still have some personal attention as your instructor will coach you to proper form and technique while you get in a great workout.

3. Social engagement. Bored in the weight room? Some people just can’t get motivated with just a set of dumbbells. Group workouts provide you with the social atmosphere that promotes camaraderie, accountability, and motivation – all because you are with your friends.

4. Workouts for all levels of fitness. Group fitness is not for a certain exercise level. Beginner exercisers to advanced fitness gurus can get a great workout because the work is already put into the routine of a group program. Follow the instructions and beginners will get a workout without feeling like quitting, and advanced persons will work up the sweat they want.

5. Less gym time…for YOU time. Most fitness classes run an hour or less. When you’re on your own, sometimes you drag your feet from station to station and end up skipping half your workout because of time constraints. Group exercise is structured – you’re in and out in the allotted time-frame, leaving far more time to do what you want for the rest of your day.

As we noted in certification training: We are working to combat obesity “one pump at a time.”

References:

Dolan, S. (2012). Benefits of group exercise. Retrieved from http://www.acsm.org/access-public-information/articles/2012/01/20/benefits-of-group-exercise.

LesMills (2013). Our history. Retrieved from http://www.lesmills.com/westcoast/about-les-mills/our-history.aspx