Top Fitness Trends for 2016

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Top Fitness Trends for 2016

By Editorial Staff

OK, here goes, from bottom to top: the top 20 fitness trends for 2016 according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), which published its annual fitness forecast in the November / December 2015 issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal.

The trends are based on a survey of more than 2,800 health and fitness professionals worldwide.

20. Outcome Measurements

19. Core Training

18. Circuit Training

17. Smartphone Exercise Apps

16. Flexibility and Mobility Rollers

15. Sport-Specific Training

14. Outdoor Activities

13. Wellness Coaching

12. Worksite Health Promotion

11. Group Personal Training

10. Yoga

9. Exercise and Weight Loss

8. Fitness Programs for Older Adults

7. Functional Fitness

6. Personal Training

5. Educated, Certified and Experienced Fitness Professionals

4. Strength Training

3. High-Intensity Interval Training

2. Body-Weight Training

1. Wearable Technology

Are you ready for the new (or just better) you in 2016? Then consider getting involved in one or more of these fitness trends this year. Whether you’re the teacher or the student (or both), lifelong health and wellness is all about finding the most inspiring ways to stay healthy, and these 20 trends sure fit the bill. Talk to your doctor for more information, along with other great ways to get and stay in shape. For details regarding each of the top 20 trends, click here.

Cough Relief the Natural Way

Home » Blog » Cough Relief the Natural Way

Cough Relief the Natural Way

By Editorial Staff

While we’re mired in the thick of another cold and flu season, it’s time to remind parents of two important points: First, the Food and Drug Administration says cough and cold medications are not appropriate for children ages 6 and younger and may actually be dangerous; and second, research suggests honey may be the best treatment of all for helping children suffering from cough and related symptoms.

Let’s deal with the safety issue first. Over the past several years, the FDA has progressively investigated over-the-counter cough and cold medications, many either with dosing instructions for adults and children or for children only, depending on the type/brand. With little research done involving children only (after all, what parent would want their child to be the guinea pig in one of those studies?), the general protocol was for dosing recommendations to be extrapolated from adults to children. In other words, there was little to no hard data providing any sort of a basis for how much of a given cough/cold medicine should be administered to children – or if it should be administered at all.

Eventually, the FDA figured this out and ruled that cough and cold medicines were inappropriate for children under the age of 2, then extended the ban to children under age 6.

Even the medications still considered appropriate for the 6-plus age group (at least for now) have come under fire, with more than a few product recalls for quality-control issues that resulted in a number of products (cough and cold, allergy, fever) made by several drug manufacturers being removed from the shelves for several months in 2010.

Wouldn’t it be great if our kids had something natural to help them get rid of those nasty coughs, or at least minimize their duration? Well, perhaps they do: honey. For example, in a 2007 Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine study involving 105 children ages 2-18 with upper respiratory infections, children who were given buckwheat honey (between 1/2 and 2 teaspoons prior to bedtime, depending on age) coughed less and slept better than children who did not receive any honey or who received honey-flavored dextromethorphan (the primary active ingredient in many cough and cold medications).

Talk to your doctor for more information, and keep in mind that honey is not recommended for children in their first year because it may contain botulism spores, which can be harmful to young children’s underdeveloped immune systems.