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FDA
FDA Consumer
magazine
September-October 2003 Issue
Topics in This Issue:
Several government studies dating from the mid-1990s report that our reliance on technology has discouraged physical activity and led to more sedentary lifestyles. This has helped fuel an alarming rise in weight-related problems: Nearly two-thirds of all American adults and 15 percent of children are overweight or obese, setting the stage for diabetes, heart disease, and other serious maladies.
To help counteract this trend, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) has launched the President's Challenge, an interactive Web site that aims to get people of all ages on their feet and engaged in physical activity. The site offers a free and easy-to-use tool to track progress toward becoming fit. The site also gives awards for reaching fitness milestones.
Here's how it works:
Any participant can work toward a Presidential Active Lifestyle Award by engaging in physical activity five days a week for six weeks (adults should be active at least 30 minutes a day, and children for at least 60 minutes).
Though the awards are given for short-term fitness progress, the program is intended to last much longer. "It can help people be healthy, active and fit for the rest of their lives," says Lynn Swann, former Pittsburgh Steeler and chairman of the PCPFS.
Want to learn more about food-related topics such as labeling, allergies and safety of fresh produce? The FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition offers an easy way through its online video library. Using a free downloadable plug-in, you can view short productions that explain, for example, how to avoid foodborne illness by preventing contamination of foods in your kitchen. Other longer videos explain FDA programs such as measures the agency is taking to protect the food supply as part of recent bioterrorism legislation. Some of the videos are available in multiple languages.
The site also links to a library of videos from other federal agencies on subjects such as using a food thermometer to ensure thorough cooking and washing hands frequently to avoid contamination.
Brake fluid. Air fresheners. Insect repellent. Bleach. Sure, you use these things all the time. But do you ever wonder what's in these products or what the potential health effects of exposure to them are? The National Library of Medicine has the answers in its online Household Products Database. Browse or search specific brand-name products in categories such as auto products, landscape/yard, home maintenance, and hobbies/crafts.
If, for example, you want to know more about the antiperspirant you use, just click on that category and a list of dozens of brand names will appear, each with detailed safety and manufacturing information.
But suppose you only have the name of a product ingredient. No problem. The site allows searching or browsing through a chemical registry for background on the ingredient. You also can search for information about health effects such as dizziness or headache.
Nearly half of adolescents have had at least one alcoholic drink by the time they're in eighth grade, and over 20 percent report having been drunk, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). About 30 percent of 12th graders report drinking on three or more occasions per month, and about 20 percent have had at least five drinks on more than one occasion within the past two weeks.
These disturbing statistics, a proposal for reversing them, and other information on underage drinking can be found in the latest issue of "Alcohol Alert," a free newsletter found on the NIAAA's Web site. The site includes back issues of the newsletter, covering topics such as fetal alcohol exposure, alcohol and the workplace, and advances in alcohol treatment.
Several other useful publications are on the site, including NIAAA Newsletter, which spotlights the institute's activities and events; the scientific journal Alcohol Research & Health; a thesaurus defining more than 10,000 alcohol and drug terms; and numerous brochures covering a wide range of alcohol-related topics.
FDA.gov is written by John Henkel, a member of the FDA's Website Management Staff.