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Chokehold incident at Coppell middle school under investigation

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Chokehold incident at Coppell middle school under investigation

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Chokehold incident at Coppell middle school under investigation

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A widely circulated video shows one student putting another in a headlock at Coppell Middle School North's cafeteria.

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Assigned seating in the cafeteria creates more chaos than good

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Assigned seating in the cafeteria creates more chaos than good

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Assigned seating in the cafeteria creates more chaos than good - The Daily Gazette

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Kids should be able to sit with their friends

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IBWA Statement Regarding Maryland’s Decision to Restrict State Employee Access to Bottled Water

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IBWA Statement Regarding Maryland’s Decision to Restrict State Employee Access to Bottled Water

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Alexandria, VA - The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) today issued the following statement in response to Governor Martin O'Malley's adoption of guidelines restricting the use of state funds to purchase bottled water. The recommendations were drafted by the Maryland Green Purchasing Committee, created and tasked by the legislature with "greening" state spending.

"The recent announcement by Governor O'Malley endorsing the restriction of access to bottled water by Maryland state employees is disappointing. However, the action wisely allows bottled water to continue to be used by state facilities when tap water is not available, as well as in vending machines.

Both tap water and bottled water have a role to play in making it possible and convenient for people to drink more water, which is a very healthful beverage choice. Nonetheless, it is unfortunate that the state has opted to single out healthy, safe and zero calorie bottled water.

Bottled water is comprehensively regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as a packaged food product. By law, the FDA must regulate bottled water at least as stringently as the Environmental Protection Agency regulates tap water.

Removing bottled water as an option does not automatically drive people to drink tap water. According to peer-reviewed consumer research, and demonstrated through testing in Toronto, Canada schools, if bottled water is not available, only one-third of people seek out tap water, while two-thirds instead choose packaged beverages that add calories or sugar, or both, to their diet.

The importance of drinking water, including bottled water, is vital to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, especially for the 64 percent of Marylanders who are either obese or overweight. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Choose My Plate program, which encourages healthy eating, recommends drinking water instead of sugary drinks and First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign urges children to opt for water when they are thirsty.

When it comes to the environment, bottled water companies are reducing their environmental foot print by light-weighting their products and developing new technologies in product packaging, such as the use of recycled content, biodegradable and compostable materials. Many companies are also utilizing more fuel efficient means of transportation.

Bottled water containers are 100% recyclable and recycling rates have doubled in the past five years.

Banning the purchase of bottled water by state government agencies also negatively impacts real people and the economy. The bottled water industry provides and supports 2,260 jobs in the state, resulting in $92 million in wages and benefits for Maryland workers. The bottled water industry is also responsible for as much as $1.1 billion in total economic activity in Maryland in 2009.

The bottled water industry is always at the forefront of relief efforts during natural disasters, boil alerts, and other catastrophic events to deliver clean, safe drinking water. Most recently, the industry was able to respond when two Maryland state agencies called for emergency water donations in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. However, the bottled water industry relies on a viable commercial market and cannot exist only for disaster response. To discourage the use of bottled water does a disservice to an industry that is called upon every year to provide much needed safe, clean, drinking water."

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The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters. Founded in 1958, IBWA's membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, and state governments to set stringent standards for safe, high quality bottled water products. Additionally, IBWA requires member bottlers to adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices that in some cases are more stringent than federal and state regulations. A key feature of the IBWA Model Code is an annual plant inspection by an independent, third party organization.

For more information about IBWA, bottled water and a list of member‚ brands, please contact
Jill Culora, IBWA‚ Vice President of Communications at 703-647-4609 or[email protected] .

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IBWA Statement Regarding Maryland's Decision to Restrict State Employee Access to Bottled Water - Bottled Water Matters

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The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) today issued the following statement in response to Governor Martin O'Malley's adoption of guidelines restricting the use of state funds to purchase bottled water. The recommendations were drafted by the Maryland Green Purchasing Committee, created and tasked by the legislature with "greening" state spending.

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Everyone benefits from a break. Research has long shown that it is more effective to integrate breaks into work rather than work for long stretches. For young children, who tend not to process information as well as older children, taking breaks for unstructured play is critical in increasing focus and attention.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recognizes the right of all children to play, regarding it as an essential part of their well-being. According to a Stanford University study, school recess offers benefits to students' well-being, and recess is a profoundly important part of the school day. In addition, recess offers opportunities for children to learn and enhance communication skills, negotiation, cooperation, sharing, problem solving, perseverance, self-control, and conflict resolution.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued the policy statement "The Crucial Role of Recess in School" to make recommendations to schools, and its stance is unequivocal: "Recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits that may not be fully appreciated when a decision is made to diminish it. Recess is necessary for the health and development of children and should never be withheld for punishment or for academic reasons."

The National Association for the Education of Young Children recommends unstructured play as a developmentally appropriate means of reducing stress. Recess provides children with the opportunity to exert energy in a healthy way. And because recess is a break from the structure and expectations of school, children have the chance to take control of their world, even if only for a short time.

Additionally, recess offers children the opportunity to be physically active, which is not only beneficial for their physical health but also their mental health. Brain research has shown that the brain is activated during physical activity, much more so than during sedentary times.

Despite these positive benefits of recess, studies show that many schools (40% nationwide) have cut back recess programs or eliminated recess altogether. A recent Gallup poll commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported that 77% of school principals admitted that they withhold recess as punishment. In that same report, 8-in-10 principals acknowledged that time to play has a "positive impact on achievement," and two-thirds of principals stated that "students listen better after recess and are more focused in class."

All children benefit from recess, but when a child is struggling with a mental health disorder, the need for play is magnified. One-in-five children in the United States has a diagnosable mental disorder, and 1-in-10 youth has mental health challenges that are severe enough to impair how he/she functions at home, school, or in the community. These children often feel overwhelmed and are sometimes paralyzed by school stress and test anxiety. Some children respond to this stress by shutting down and refusing to attend school while others respond by acting out with "bad" behavior. These children can then get caught in a downward spiral that has a negative impact on their lives. While a number of adolescents and their parents are choosing cyber schools with the hope that it can alleviate some of the school stress, cyber-school can also further isolate teens from healthy social contact and natural supports unless opportunities for consistent and frequent socialization are provided.

School systems seem to be experiencing their own high stress situations with diminishing budgets, pressure to produce students with high academic achievements, and mounting safety concerns. It might be a good idea for all of us to step back, take a deep breath, and consider whether structuring more play time into the school day might help to alleviate stress on several levels. Consider something Plato said: "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." Is it possible we could all discover more about ourselves and find creative solutions to some of our problems if we all allowed for more play time?

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How Important Is Recess? | St. Luke's Penn Foundation

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Everyone benefits from a break. Research has long shown that it is more effective to integrate breaks into work rather than work for long stretches. For young children, who tend not to process information as well as older children, taking breaks for unstructured play is critical in increasing focus and attention.

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Introducing breaks after instruction time enhances attention and performance at all ages. Elementary students are more attentive in the classroom after recess than before it! Less disruptive...

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The streaming era has changed everything about the way people view television. You no longer have to wait for a new episode of your favorite show because many entertainment companies are releasing entire seasons and series of shows at once. This has lead to a new concept called binge-watching.

Binge-watching-the act of streaming many television episodes in one sitting-is become more and more common with all the streaming options available to consumers, including Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video, among others. You can stream these services on your television or on another electronic device, such as a laptop, tablet, or cell phone.

But as great as all these options might sound, health experts warn that because people are replacing time once spent exercising, socializing, and sleeping, they are increasing their risk for many serious health conditions, including cardiovascular disease (heart disease), depression, sleep problems, and behavioral addictions.

Much of the research on the health effects of binge-watching is new, but what is available does focus on and raise some serious health considerations. Here is what you need to know about the health risks associated with binge-watching and what you can do to cut down your TV time and potentially reduce your risk for adverse health outcomes.

Binge-watching has become common behavior. In fact, a 2018 poll found that 60% of American adults who use on-demand streaming services binge watch. Percentages are higher with younger audiences, with 73% of 18 to 29-year-olds binge-watching at least once a week.

Binge-watching behavior has health consequences and researchers from Arizona State University were determined to figure out what exactly these might be. Their study results are published in the August 2020 journal BMC Public Health. Here, they sent out an 18-question survey to 926 adults who had a television and at least one more device they used to stream television shows.

Researchers wanted to know how much time people were spending on their devices, their weight, what their diets looked like, how much sleep they got and the quality of that sleep, how much stress they incurred day-to-day, and their physical activity levels, and binge-watching habits.

What the researchers found was the heaviest screen time watchers were averaging about 17.5 hours per day across all devices. These users also reported the least healthful diets and poorest health outcomes in comparison to those who were moderate or light screen users.

The researchers also noted that heavy screen time habits can lead to unhealthy diet patterns like frequent fast-food consumption and eating family meals in front of a television. Heavy screen time use was also associated with perceived stress.

Arizona State University researchers concluded poor diet and negative health consequences would become more evident as viewing time increased. They also felt more research was needed to better understand what types of screen-related behaviors might affect health behaviors and outcomes.

Potential Health Consequences

Over time, binge-watching may harm your health in ways you may not expect. Among the concerns researchers have raised are decreased physical activity, sleep problems and fatigue, blood clots, heart problems, poor diet, social isolation, behavioral addiction, and cognitive decline.

Physical Inactivity

According to the National Institutes for Health (NIH), a mostly sedentary lifestyle is causally linked to a number of poor health outcomes, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, strokes, excessive weight gain, and mood disorders like anxiety and depression.

The more sedentary you are, the higher your risks are for these conditions. A sedentary lifestyle can also increase your risk of premature death.

A study reported in April 2020 in the International Journal of Environmental Research suggested a comparison between active sitting, such as working at a computer at a desk, and nonactive sitting like watching television. Non-active sitting, as the researchers suggest, might be linked to up to a 25% higher body mass index (BMI) and body fat in younger adults.

The connection between BMI and body fat wasn't as high with active sitting. And here, researchers stressed the importance of reallocating sedentary time to active time in order to reduce the risk for conditions associated with inactive sitting.

An Unhealthy Diet

Binge-watching is also linked to unhealthy diet habits, according to researchers from the University of Michigan. At the 67th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (2017), researchers discussed the link between binge-watching and poor lifestyle choices.

Here, they noted that binge-watching encouraged foregoing sleep, consumption of unhealthy meals, unhealthy snacking, and sedentary behavior.

A study reported in March 2020 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition associated television watching with distraction eating. And distraction eating, according to the researchers, leads to overeating and weight gain.

When people are eating this way daily or nightly, this starts to add up, eventually causing weight gain and increased risk for related health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Sleep Problems and Fatigue

You need sleep because it plays an important role in your mental and physical health and your quality of life. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), sleep is necessary for proper brain function, maintaining physical health, and promoting healthy growth and development in children and teens.

Sleep deficiency can lead to serious mental and physical health problems, injuries, loss of productivity, and a higher risk for early death.

An August 2017 report in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, finds binge-watching is connected to poorer sleep quality, increased fatigue, and insomnia symptoms. Here, the researchers found a state of engagement while binge-watching doesn't allow the brain to shut itself down.

As a result, it takes longer to fall asleep, and if you are falling asleep closer to morning and not getting the amount of sleep your body needs, the body unable to do necessary restoration and repair work.

Blood Clots

Hours you spend binge-watching your favorite series might feel great, but your blood vessels might not agree. In a 2018 study reported in the Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis, researchers found prolonged sitting for binge-watching is similar to prolonged sedentary behavior for long flights or during illness-it can increase the risk for deep-vein thrombosis (DVT).﻿﻿﻿

In this study, researchers found people who were sitting for long periods while watching and streaming television had an up to 70% higher risk for developing a blood clot than people who seldom watched TV.﻿﻿﻿ And that risk remains even if a person is not overweight and still being physically active.

Heart Health

Sitting for long periods can affect your heart health, and certain activities might be worse than others.

A study reported in 2019 in the Journal of the American Heart Association aimed to compare two types of sedentary behavior-TV watching versus occupational sitting, such as at a desk job. The goal of the study was to determine if these activities were equally harmful or if one was more harmful than the other.

Researchers found that excessive television viewing was associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and all-cause mortality (death rate from all causes) while occupational sitting wasn't associated with either outcome.

Regularly watching four or more hours a day of television could increase the risk for CVD or early death by up 50%, compared to people who are watching two or fewer hours daily. They concluded that reducing the amount of time watching TV was more effective for reducing CVD and morality risks than reducing occupational sitting.

Social Isolation

People who binge-watch tend to do so in solitude and researchers believe the more people binge-watch the more they isolate themselves. According to a report in the December 2017 issue of the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, links exist between social isolation, binge-watching, and poor mental health outcomes.

While the report's authors did not specifically dive into those links, they confirmed how easily binge watching could become addictive and overtake a person's social life. They concluded by noting the importance of managing these growing problematic behaviors.

Another study-this one from 2015 out of the University of Texas Austin-found people who are lonely and depressed were more likely to binge-watch, and the lonelier and more depressed someone is, the more binge-watching they will do.

Binge-watching among the study group was found to be a way to manage negative feelings. and those who struggled with self-regulation were more likely to binge-watch. The researchers suggested that binge-watching was particularly concerning here because the effects of watching too much television while dealing with feelings of loneliness and depression could lead to physical fatigue, obesity, and other serious health problems.

They further noted that binge-watching could affect work responsibilities and personal relationships because it could cause people to neglect these things.

Behavioral Addictions

Binge-watching might be considered a behavioral addiction. Having a behavioral addiction means you are dependent on and crave a particular behavior.﻿﻿﻿ Behavioral addictions can include anything from gambling to sex and videogames and yes, even, binge-watching.

According to a 2017 report in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, binge-watching may affect the pleasure centers of the brain in some people in the same way that other addictions would.﻿﻿﻿﻿ Binge-watching might give a sense of satisfaction causing a person to overindulge to the point that binge-watching affects daily activities and commitments, including work and school.

A review of studies on television addiction from 2013 in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions suggests dependence features of TV watching make it difficult to stop.﻿﻿﻿ These factors resemble neurological features seen in addiction.

According to the review's authors, people who spend a lot of time watching television can experience various role, social, and sedentary physical consequences when their viewing is not under control. And as with other addictions, binge-watching isn't their only addiction. Here, the review's authors suggest this evidence is an indication of a credible need for prevention and treatment approaches to television addiction.

Cognitive Decline

If you are spending hours binge-watching, you may want to consider the effect this may have on your brain health. A study reported in 2019 in the journal Scientific Reports suggests binge-watching could lead to cognitive decline down the road.﻿﻿﻿﻿

In this study, researchers used data from 3,000 adults over age 50 who were watching more than 3.5 hours of television daily. They found watching this amount of TV was associated with poor verbal memory after six years and this effect was strongest for people who had initially performed better at the start of the study.

The researchers suggest that instead of spending long hours watching TV, people should engage themselves in mind-building activities. This includes activities like reading, puzzles, games, and physical exercise.

How To Break the Habit

The best way to reduce the effects of binge-watching is to make television watching an occasional pleasure and not an everyday thing. Some ways to break this habit include:

Limiting yourself: You may want to watch a small number of episodes, i.e., two episodes of a show at a time. Once you have reached your limit, turn the TV off and find something else to do.

Setting a time limit: Decide on an appropriate amount of time you will watch television every night. Then set an alarm or timer to keep yourself stay on course.

Finding a balance: Balance your TV-watching with other activities, including exercise, reading, a hobby, or spending time with a friend.

Making TV watching a social thing:If you invite someone else to watch with you, you likely won't spend as much time watching and you won't get sucked into hours of streaming.

Making sure you have a bedtime: Binge-watching can cause you to sacrifice hours of sleep, which can affect you the next day and harm you in the long-term. It might help to set a bedtime alarm, so you don't lose track of time watching television.

Deciding to snack healthy: Rather than eating unhealthy snacks while watching TV, opt for snacks that have more nutritional value. Fruits and vegetables are healthier options over salty, fatty foods.

A Word From Verywell

There is nothing wrong with sitting down to catch up on your favorite show or watching an entire season over an occasional weekend. But when you start to have trouble taking care of your responsibilities and giving up on other activities, including time with family and friends, your TV time can become a serious problem.

If you find your TV viewing starts to have a negative impact on your health, your relationships and keeps you from living your life, talk to a therapist. This is especially important if you are unable to reduce your streaming time on your own.

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What to Know About How Binge-Watching Affects Your Health

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Binge-watching has become common behavior and health experts warn of increased health risks from long periods of streaming and watching TV.

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Is Recess Important For Kids Or A Waste Of Time? Here’s What The Research Says

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Is Recess Important For Kids Or A Waste Of Time? Here’s What The Research Says

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Is Recess Important For Kids Or A Waste Of Time? Here’s What The Research Says | TIME