Kids Walk Across Arkansas
Education and Safety
Over Heating!
Goal: To prevent heat related illness due to
physical activity
Objectives:
Participants will:
- Identify what water does for the body.
- Discuss why it is important to drink the
fluids during physical activity.
- Describe what happens if you don't drink
enough fluids.
- List ways to get enough fluids.
Key Teaching Points:
- Water is one of the most important nutrients.
- Sweating is good for you! It releases body
heat and helps keep the body cool.
- During activity, muscles produce 20 times more
heat than when your are resting.
- Water can be replaced in several ways.
- Drink enough water every day to have pale or
clear urine.
Introduction
Water is one of the most important nutrients. Water accounts for about half
of your body weight. So, if you weigh 80 pounds, you have about 40 pounds of
water in your body. Water does many things for your body.
Water helps:
- The blood to carry oxygen, glucose (sugar),
and other nutrients and returns carbon dioxide to the lungs.
- Wash out the waste that our bodies cannot use.
- With the digestion of food.
- Lubricate joints and cushions organs and
tissues.
- Keep the body cool.
Water and Physical Activity
During physical activity, your body temperature rises because muscles
generate about 20 times more heat when you are active than when you are at rest.
As your temperature rises, you begin to sweat. Sweating takes the extra heat and
releases it to keep the body cool. The more active you are, the more water you
lose. It is very important to replace water lost through sweating so you don’t
over heat. When water is not replaced, the body temperature goes up. If you
notice you are not sweating during physical activity, then you could suffer from
heat stroke. Heat stroke is when your body over heats because it no longer has
enough water to keep it cool – you stop sweating. You may become dizzy, weak, or
unconscious. This is a life threatening condition and 911 should be called.
Until help arrives, drink about ½ a glass of room temperature water, not cold
water, every 15 minutes and lie down in a shaded area.
Water Replacement
You can get water many different ways; you don’t always have drink it. Almost
any nonalcoholic fluid will do as well as foods with a high water content. Try
not to have to many drinks with caffeine because the caffeine causes your body
to lose water faster. Keep plenty of drinks and food that you like around while
participating in physical activity. You will know if you have taken in enough
daily fluids by the color of your urine - it should be pale or clear in color.
What are some drinks and foods that would help replace lost water? (Answers may
include: juice, coffee and tea (decaffeinated is best), lemonade, sports drinks,
soft drinks, soups, milk, smoothies, oranges, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers).
Activities
Food Activity:
Have different kinds of food and drinks (they can be part of the refreshments
for the program) such as sliced oranges and/or tomatoes, water, instant flavored
drink mix, and colas to represent foods with a high water content. Include foods
with a low water content such as cookies, candy, etc. Ask participants to decide
which of the foods will increase body water content and which ones will not. Be
sure to point out that caffeine in colas causes the body to lose water faster
than drinks without caffeine.
Heat Stroke Activity:
Have the 3 participants do the following short skit:
(The children are playing chase. Two are real
sweaty, and one has stopped sweating and is feeling real dizzy.)
Child 1: I can't run anymore. I don't feel well.
Child 2: Don't be such a baby. We want to play longer.
Child 3: Wait, look at his/her face. It's really red and doesn't look so good.
Child 2: That is his/her normal face.
(Child 1 starts to lose their balance)
Child 1: I think I better go sit in the shade. I feel really hot. (Sits down and looks sick)
Child 3: Look, (child's name) isn't sweating like you and me.
Child 2: Well, I did learn from the County Extension Agent that if you get too hot, dizzy, and stop sweating that you may be having heat stroke!
Child 3: (Looks at audience) What should we do?
Let the participants tell what should be done.
As they say what to do, the participants should do it. (Call 911, give cool not
cold water to drink, spray with cool water, etc.)
Ways to Keep Cool
- Drink two 8 ounce glasses of water or sports
drink up to two hours before physical activity
- Drink 4 to 8 ounces or more of water or sports
drink 5-10 minutes before physical activity
- Drink 8 to 10 ounces of fluid, or as much as
you can tolerate, every 15 to 20 minutes during intensive physical activity
- Avoid drinks with caffeine - they may cause
muscle cramping
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to maintain
adequate amounts of sodium, calcium, and potassium
- Do not add excess salt to your food
- Wear comfortable clothing that is appropriate
for the physical activity
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