The Physical Activity and Teenage Health developed by Dr. Paul Fardy of Queens College's department of family, nutrition and exercise sciences, seeks to help high-schools reduce their risk of heart disease. Currently heart attacks and disease cause half of the deaths in the U.S.

The PATH curriculum is available for $4 per workbook. Specify middle or high school grades. To order, contact Paul Fardy, Family, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, Queens College, Flushing, N.Y. 11367.

Following are a few samples of workbook activities.

Sample brain exercise from Chapter 1

The causes of heart disease

Your risk of heart disease as an adult is related to health behaviors such as:

• lack of exercise

• overeating and diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol

• cigarette smoking, and

• stressful living conditions.

These causes are called risk factors. Some risk factors are called "modifiable" because they can be altered through changes in your lifestyle. Examples of change include:

• participate in regular aerobic exercise

• eat a balanced and sensible diet

• eat foods that are low in cholestrol and saturated fat

• maintain a desirable body weight

• don't smoke

• learn to manage stress.

Question: How can you prevent your arteries from building up fatty plaque?

Sample exercise from Chapter 3

Fat sometimes gets a bad rap. Although it is important to limit the amount of fat and to pay attention to the type of fat in your diet, some fat is good to eat.

Too much dietary fat can lead to health and weight problems like coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity. Too little dietary fat can also be unhealthy. Dietary fat helps you feel full, it lends an aroma so food smells appealing, and fat helps to make food taste good. Fat is actually a part of every cell membrane in the body and it helps you absorb fat soluble vitamins. Fat is especially important in the making of hormones in the body.

If too much fat is unhealthy and too little fat is also unhealthy, then it's just a matter of figuring how much and what type of fat is good for you!

Basic guidelines suggest that 20-30% of your total calories should come from fat. The more physically active you are the greater calories you use each day and the more food you need to maintain weight. Since your fat budget is determined by your caloric level, it is also determined by your activity level.

Teen girls: @ 1800 calories

Physically active teen girls: 2200

Teen boys: @ 2800 calories

Physically active teen boys: 3200

Fat Budget: 65-90 grams of fat a day

To put this in perspective:

Meal 1: a double whopper with cheese and medium fries = 61 grams of fat.

Meal 2: a turkey sandwich with pretzels and an apple = 11 grams of fat.

In order to calculate fat calories in any food product multiply the number of fat grams by 9 calories.

How many calories does your fat budget contain? ______

How many fat calories are in Meal 1? ______

How many are in Meal 2? ______

Sometimes it is a matter of choices and balance. For example, the day you get a cheeseburger might be a good day to get the side salad and a baked potato. The day you select a grilled chicken sandwich might be the day you get the fries, that way you can keep your fat budget in line.

Brain Exercise 4-5

Stress and the immune system.

Stress can make you ill by reducing the effectiveness of the body's immune system. It is estimated that 60-80% of all physical and mental illness is related to stress.

Stress has been linked to:

• Allergies

• Tension Headaches

• TMS Syndrone

• High Blood Pressure

• Mental Illness

• Cancer

• Colds and Flu

• Back Aches

• Coronary Artery Disease

• Chronic Fatigue

• Sleep Disorders