Exercise

With the spring weather in full bloom, it’s time get off the treadmill and take your fitness routine outdoors.

For inspiration, you can turn to the book “Walking Salt Lake City” (Wilderness Press, $17.95), co-authored by Lynn Arave of Layton and Ray Boren of Salt Lake City. There are 34 walks outlined in the book, from Dimple Dell in Sandy on the south, to Antelope Island on the north.

Each walk has a map, degree of difficulty, clear route directions, background about the location and points of interest to see along the way.

OGDEN — The fourth annual Safe Kids Day Fair will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Golden Spike Arena at the Weber County Fairgrounds, 1000 N. 1200 West. The event is free.

The event, sponsored by Weber-Morgan Health Department, will include more than 90 booths, a climbing wall, petting farm, bike rodeo and a visit from Utah’s Biggest Loser finalist, Jackson Carter, who will exercise with kids at 12:30 p.m.

The first 500 in line will receive a free T-shirt. The first 200 will receive a free helmet.

OGDEN — U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin likens public health to an interstate highway: As long as everything is going smoothly, nobody notices, but as soon as you hit a pothole, everyone pays attention.

Benjamin was the keynote speaker Tuesday morning at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center during Utah’s Public Health Conference. The theme for the conference this year is Embrace the Future, Renew Public Health.

Benjamin said public health is more than educating the community — it’s going directly to where they are and engaging them in healthy lifestyles.

“One of our biggest challenges is lifestyle changes,” she said. “We need to bring back the joy of being healthy.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert jumped on an exercise bike Thursday to promote the need for people, especially schoolchildren, to exercise more.

Herbert and Reps. Paul Ray, R-Clinton, and Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, talked about the benefits of exercise during a news conference started on exercise bikes. They said exercise supercharges the circuits in the human brain, which boosts performance.

They also pointed to a University of Utah study that found children in grades 3-5 showed a 9 percent improvement in class on-task behaviors after 10 minutes of physical activity.

REDDING, Calif. -- The wheels on the bus don’t always go ‘round and ‘round. When the Cypress Elementary School “walking bus” rolls, feet are the force.

Not to be confused with a big, yellow school bus, the walking bus is made up of students, staff members and parents who make a 3/4-mile trek through neighborhoods to the Redding, Calif., school each school day. Some 15 to 20 students typically participate, but there have been as many as 28.

Thanksgiving is a time of family, celebration — and thousands of calories.

But don’t blame the turkey. You’ll most likely find the calorie culprits right next to it: the sides.

Many popular Thanksgiving cooking techniques include breading, frying or smothering with high-fat sauces that significantly increase calories and saturated fat. And we often miss out on the opportunity to incorporate beneficial foods such as whole grains and vegetables.

But there are plenty of ways to make your holiday more healthful. You just have to have a plan of attack.

OGDEN — With Zumba still the rage, some cities and gyms are adding different types of classes to get more and more people hooked on the exercise.

Earlier this week in North Ogden, the North Shore Aquatic Center held its first “Night-time Zumba Party.” Exercisers danced at dusk on the grass on the shore of the pool. The center added this event to go along with its wildly-popular aqua Zumba classes offered all summer.