Health News
Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports that the state Task Force on Interscholastic Athletics at the Middle School Level announced its preliminary recommendations this week to address concerns about young athletes' health and safety. It seems that middle school sports in Kentucky have never had the advantage of being governed by a unified code of rules and policies like their counterpart in high school sports. This has led to a confusing mish-mash of guidelines that the legislature is setting out to get right in the coming year.
Preliminary task force recommendations include requiring all middle school teams to follow high school rules on physical exams, medical coverage, concussions and practicing during extreme heat, and requiring the tracking of injuries and incidents for all sports. The task force also suggested that the Kentucky Board of Education look to create a single governing body, like the Kentucky High School Athletics Association that governs high school sports, to oversee all middle-school sports. Wilson Sears, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents and a task force member, told Musgrave that the recommendations represent "real progress." (Read more)
- Girls Are More Likely Than Boys To Have Overuse Injuries While Participating In High School Sports
Overuse injuries make up more than 50 percent of athletic injuries and are most common in children ages 13 to 17. Girls are at a higher risk than boys of overuse injuries while participating in high school sports, according to a study by researchers at...
- Electronic Cigarettes Are 'high On Every School System's Radar Right Now,' Western Ky. School Official Tells Henderson Newspaper
This story has been updated to reflect recent data about teens and e-cigarette use. School officials in northwestern Kentucky are trying deal with an increase in the use of electronic cigarettes by students, Erin Schmitt reports for The Gleaner in...
- Ensure Children's Eye Safety During Fall Sports Season
Children are back in school, playing sports, and parents can take precautions to ensure their children's eye safety as they compete. Although many parents are unaware of the risks posed to their child's eye safety, about 40,000 eye injuries take...
- Community-based Solutions To Childhood Obesity Show Signs Of Progress Elsewhere; Will Kentucky Pick Up On Them?
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News For decades, researchers reported with alarm the increasing trend of overweight children in America, with one in three kids on the way to developing Type 2 diabetes. Across the country, action has been taken to address...
- Schools Serving Somewhat Healthier Lunches, But Short On Physical Activity, National Survey Shows
The nation's middle and high schools are feeding students somewhat healthier lunches, but are falling short in providing physical activity to students, a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Bridging the Gap program has found. And...
Health News
Task force recommends changes to protect safety and health of middle school students who play interscholastic sports
 |
| The boys of North Marshall Middle School of Benton, Ky., after winning a Christmas tournament last year. |
Preliminary task force recommendations include requiring all middle school teams to follow high school rules on physical exams, medical coverage, concussions and practicing during extreme heat, and requiring the tracking of injuries and incidents for all sports. The task force also suggested that the Kentucky Board of Education look to create a single governing body, like the Kentucky High School Athletics Association that governs high school sports, to oversee all middle-school sports. Wilson Sears, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents and a task force member, told Musgrave that the recommendations represent "real progress." (Read more)
- Girls Are More Likely Than Boys To Have Overuse Injuries While Participating In High School Sports
Overuse injuries make up more than 50 percent of athletic injuries and are most common in children ages 13 to 17. Girls are at a higher risk than boys of overuse injuries while participating in high school sports, according to a study by researchers at...
- Electronic Cigarettes Are 'high On Every School System's Radar Right Now,' Western Ky. School Official Tells Henderson Newspaper
This story has been updated to reflect recent data about teens and e-cigarette use. School officials in northwestern Kentucky are trying deal with an increase in the use of electronic cigarettes by students, Erin Schmitt reports for The Gleaner in...
- Ensure Children's Eye Safety During Fall Sports Season
Children are back in school, playing sports, and parents can take precautions to ensure their children's eye safety as they compete. Although many parents are unaware of the risks posed to their child's eye safety, about 40,000 eye injuries take...
- Community-based Solutions To Childhood Obesity Show Signs Of Progress Elsewhere; Will Kentucky Pick Up On Them?
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News For decades, researchers reported with alarm the increasing trend of overweight children in America, with one in three kids on the way to developing Type 2 diabetes. Across the country, action has been taken to address...
- Schools Serving Somewhat Healthier Lunches, But Short On Physical Activity, National Survey Shows
The nation's middle and high schools are feeding students somewhat healthier lunches, but are falling short in providing physical activity to students, a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Bridging the Gap program has found. And...