The Cooper Institute

01/27/2025

11/06/2024

Check out The Cooper Institute's Youth Team November Newsletter for ways to stay Happy, Active, and Thankful during this Fall Season!

Email from The Cooper Institute Happy Active Thankful November 2024   Happy, Active, Thankful Improving youth fitness through assessment, science and research. Time to Trot Turkey, and stuffing and pi

07/19/2024

The Cooper Institute Youth Team held their annual NFL PLAY 60 FitnessGram Project Champion Summit last week at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Physical Education leaders whose school districts are enrolled into the project came together for a day of learning, networking, and fun. Special thanks to the Dallas Cowboys for hosting such an amazing event and Cowboys in the Community for helping our Champions get in the spirit with NFL FLAG football drills and activities. We would also like to thank our project partners (NFL Foundation , GenYouth , Greenlight Fitness , American Heart Association , Everfi from Blackbaud , US Games) for their wonderful presentations and participation at the event!

07/12/2024

HAPPENING NOW: The Cooper Institute Youth Team and The Dallas Cowboys are hosting Project Champions from around the nation at the 2024 NFL PLAY 60 FitnessGram Project Annual Summit at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The event was kicked off with a welcome dinner and NFL Flag drills with former NFL players.

06/24/2024

The Cooper Institute’s FitnessGram Advisory Board (FAB) recently met in Stevenson, WA for their annual board meeting. The FAB was established in 1985 to ensure the FitnessGram assessment remains scientifically sound and promotes lifelong wellness among youth. This year, the FAB discussed the three new FitnessGram assessments (launching this fall) and continued to evaluate current Youth related health and fitness research. CI’s Youth Team also honored Dr. Kathleen Janz for her dedicated service to the FAB over the last 7 years. In their down time, the team and FAB members remained active, enjoying hiking, biking and geocaching.

06/22/2024

Support our research and preservation of the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study by donating today, visit: https://bit.ly/3EsUpMs

06/10/2024

Did youth fitness decline during the COVID-19 pandemic? New research by Dr. Andjelka Pavlovic, Director of Youth at The Cooper Institute and colleagues was presented at ACSM’s Annual Meeting and used data from the NFL PLAY 60 FitnessGram Project to answer this question. Among 264 schools across 21 states, cardiorespiratory fitness declined significantly during the pandemic. In fact, children were 23% less likely to achieve the Health Fitness Zone between spring 2020 and spring 2021 compared to either before or after the pandemic. However, the observed decline in fitness does not appear to be a result of prolonged remote/hybrid learning environments. Click the image below to see the abstract presented at the conference.

06/03/2024

Our research team’s Clare Meernik celebrating World Bicycle Day to promote health, prevent disease, and build a greener environment.

05/29/2024

Yuzi Zhang, PhD, MS, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston/School of Public Health and a student of the late Bill Kohl, PhD, recently presented an abstract based on data from The Cooper Institute’s Cooper Center Longitudinal Study(CCLS) at the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) conference in Omaha, Nebraska. As The Cooper Institute highlights the importance of physical activity on this National Senior Health & Fitness Day, this abstract highlights the association of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep patterns with cognitive function among middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults. To learn more about our research visit: www.cooperinstitute.org
&FitnessDay

05/24/2024

Today is National Scavenger Hunt Day and you can celebrate by creating a scavenger hunt to do at home or in your classroom! Not only are scavenger hunts a low-cost and playful way to boost teamwork and collaboration skills, but they can also be a fun way to sneak in some outdoor exercise. Have your students’ collect treasures by color (i.e.: a green leaf, a brown stick, a yellow flower) or provide clues and have them check off a list. Some sample questions may look like this:
• I am red, have eight sides and drivers must stop behind me. I am a ____? (Stop Sign)
• I have roots in the ground and leaves in the sky. I am home to birds that you can see. I am a ___? (tree)
• I am filled with water from the ground and used by Firefighters when a fire is around. I am ____? (Fire Hydrant)
Happy Hunting!

05/20/2024

In honor of American Stroke Month, check out this article by The Cooper Institute’s research team on the correlation between muscular strength and risk of stoke later in life. https://bit.ly/3QTLABI
And remember F.A.S.T to help save a life!

05/17/2024

Today is World Hypertension Day, celebrated to raise your awareness not your BP! If you suffer from high blood pressure and avoid weight training for fear of increasing it, check out this article to see how resistance training may actual benefit those with hypertension!

Approximately 57% of the adult population is estimated to have hypertension (resting blood pressure > 140/90) or pre-hypertension (Ostchega et al). We’ve all been told that aerobic exercise is a great way to lower blood pressure.

05/16/2024

A new study from The Cooper Institute reassures that high levels of physical activity do not accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis. Data from the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study (CCLS) demonstrates that progression of coronary artery calcium (CAC) over time is not associated with leisure-time aerobic physical activity measured at baseline and follow-up. Read the full study here: https://bit.ly/JAMACardioStudy

05/08/2024

Join students around the world as they participate in the Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day 2024! Thousands of schools across America and the globe celebrate walking and rolling to school every year. By walking or rolling to your work/school, you can help reduce the environmental impact of automobile emissions, promote safety, and benefit your community. Additionally, starting your day off with an active trip to work/school enables you to incorporate physical activity into your daily routine, helping you build healthier habits that will last Well. Into the Future!
For more information on the annual Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day 2024 visit:

Today is the day! Families, school officials and community leaders across the United States will strap on helmets and lace up shoes today to participate in the 13th annual National Bike & Roll to School Day, a celebration highlighting the importance of safe, active transportation to school and promo...

05/05/2024

Happy Cinco de Mayo!