Gender Inequality? Blood Doping? Post Your Comments at the ACSM Olympic/Paralympics Resource Center!

With the Olympic Games in Vancouver in full swing, the ACSM Olympic/Paralympic Resource Center is following suit! The Resource Center is your one-stop shop for all things Olympics, featuring news and unique expert commentary on the sports medicine and exercise science aspects of the Games. Post your feedback on articles pertaining to:

• Gender inequality in ski jumping
• Blood doping detection
• Bioenergetics and Olympic athletes
• Much more

Sign Up Now! New Workshops at World Congress on Exercise is Medicine

Extend your ACSM Annual Meeting attendance by half a day to experience World Congress

Billed as "the world's prescription for health," the inaugural World Congress on Exercise is Medicine will feature global representation, keynote speakers - and several recently announced science-to-practice innovative workshops:

• The Health Care Providers' Guide to the Effective Integration of Physical Activity into their Patients' Health Care Solutions
• Exercise is Medicine™: From Systems Change to Globalization
• The Extension of the Exercise Is Medicine Model: Clinical Interventions for Promoting Physical Activity and Reducing Health Disparities in Medically Underserved Populations
• Making the Scientific and Evidence Argument for Exercise Is Medicine
• Active Doctors, Active Patients: An Interactive Workshop
• Connecting the World of Medicine and the World of Fitness
• Reimbursement and Physical Activity Counseling
• Making the Case for Physical Activity (+/- in Public Health): Using Cost and Cost Effectiveness Data for Science, Policy and Programs

Joint Commission Builds Support for ACSM Initiatives

The Joint Commission on Sports Medicine and Science – a collaborative of more than 40 organizations, including ACSM – held its annual meeting earlier this month in Charlotte, N.C. ACSM's goals and initiatives, from youth sports safety to the National Physical Activity Plan to physical activity advocacy, were featured educational sessions at the meeting.

The Joint Commission met at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and discussed human performance and safety in NASCAR. Attendees went through training as NASCAR pit crew members.More

Apply Now: Travel Awards for Minority Faculty, Students

Are you a minority faculty member or student hoping to travel to the ACSM Annual Meeting? A scholarship program offered by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology caters to you. FASEB will provide travel awards to selected minority faculty members and students in biomedical behavioral science. Funding has been specifically designated for the ACSM Annual Meeting (June 1-5, Baltimore).

Click here to learn more about the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program and to apply for a travel award. Applications must be received by March 17. Forward this notice to your minority colleagues and students!More

Policy Corner: ACSM is Positioned to Work Closely with First Lady on Combating Childhood Obesity

Last week, first lady Michelle Obama unveiled a national campaign to combat childhood obesity, a condition that affects one in three American children. The "Let's Move" initiative will encourage involvement from every sector – the public, nonprofit, and private sectors, as well as parents and youth – to help support and amplify the work of the Federal Government in improving the health of children.More

Austin: One City, Two Meetings

ACSM's 14th-annual Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition will connect the science of sports medicine and practice for the fitness professional. With nine specialized tracks, opportunities for CECs, and innovative workouts included in the program, the conference promises the latest and greatest in health and fitness.

And, attendees can come to Austin a day early to learn strategies for implementing physical activity at the grassroots level. The National Association for Health & Fitness will hold its annual meeting in partnership with the ACSM Summit. For additional information or to register, visit the NAHF Web site at www.physicalfitness.org.More

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Selects New Executive Director

ACSM will continue working relationship with the Council

The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports has identified its new leader. Howard Koh, M.D., the Department of Health & Human Services Assistant Secretary for Health, recently announced Shellie Pfoal as the Council's executive director. Pfoal is a past recipient of the Presidential Community Fitness Award and is the former executive director of Be Active North Carolina. ACSM will continue to work with the President's Council on a variety of health and fitness programs and goals.More

People Watching Wallets Along with Weight
Houston Chronicle
People who decide they need a little help getting fit are doing more research before choosing someone to help them.More

Obese Children Twice as Likely to Die Before 55
ABC News
Obesity in children may pave the way to an early grave, a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds.More