As the summer days pass by, it gets harder to maintain a schedule with your families enjoying some much-needed down time. A break from the stress of your busy school-year schedules is necessary, but too much time without exercising the brain can be detrimental to your child’s academic health.

This is why it is important to attend to your child’s summer reading list starting now. Most middle and high schools choose one or two required readings and allow for some independence with a suggested reading list. This is a great opportunity for your child to get introduced to a new author or genre he or she may not have known before. In addition to developing a love of reading, children in these grades will likely be tested on material read or be expected to write a response to the text.

You can help your child maintain information about the stories by giving her a journal in which to take notes, reading the book with her, and having weekly discussions with her to ensure she comprehends the material. You may also want to celebrate the completion of books with a special reward, such as a little extra money to spend back-to-school shopping or a family movie night. However you do it, supporting your middle school or high school age child in their summer reading will ensure her school year gets off to a great start.

According to a new study, regular exercise plus diet may be more effective than either one alone at helping obese older adults improve physical function, WebMD reported.

Researchers recruited 93 obese adults aged 65 and older and assigned them to one of three groups: diet, exercise, or diet plus exercise.

Participants in the diet group were asked to simply cut back on calories while those in the exercise group took part in three 90-minute group exercise sessions a week, which included aerobic activity like walking on a treadmill, cycling, and stair climbing.

Those in the group assigned to do both diet and exercise showed more gains in tests measuring physical abilities like strength, balance and gait than those who were assigned to do one or the other by itself.

Diet and exercise together “improve physical function and quality of life, and one of the most important goals in this community is to maintain independence,” said study researcher Dennis Villareal, MD, chief of geriatrics at the New Mexico VA Healthcare System and professor of medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

According to Villareal, weight loss is often problematic for obese seniors because it can result in loss of muscle mass and worsen physical function.  Frailty is common among the obese elderly.

He advised that all obese adults consult their doctors before starting an exercise program.

The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Click here to read more from WebMD.