[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 86 (Tuesday, June 25, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S6010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                            DEFEAT THE HEAT

 Mr. FRIST. Madam President, as a Member of the U.S. Senate and 
as a physician, I would like to take the opportunity to alert my 
colleagues to the Defeat the Heat campaign for America's children.
  Defeat the Heat is a new public safety campaign created by the 
National SAFE KIDS Campaign, the National Athletic Trainers' 
Association (NATA) and Gatorade. The campaign's purpose is to educate 
parents and kids about the dangers and the prevention of dehydration 
and heat illness. The goal is to teach parents to think of fluids as 
essential equipment for playing sports, just as they would regard a 
helmet or shin guards to be protective gear.
  A survey commissioned by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign reveals that 
more than three in four parents of active 8-14 year olds do not know 
how much fluid their kids need to replace what is lost through 
perspiration, and many do not know how to prevent dehydration. A child 
can lose up to a quart of sweat during a 2-hour sports game.
  There are several physiological factors that make children more 
vulnerable to heat-related illness than adults. Children absorb more 
heat from the environment because they have a greater surface-area to 
body-mass ration than adults--the smaller the child, the faster the 
heat is absorbed. Also, children are not able to dissipate as much heat 
as adults through perspiration. They produce more metabolic heat during 
physical activity and do not have the same physiological urge to drink 
enough fluids to replenish sweat losses during prolonged exercise.
  How can we help America's children defeat the heat? Drinking enough 
of the right fluids is the best defense against heat illness because 
dehydration is one of the first steps to more serious heat-related 
conditions like heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Children should be 
sure to drink before, during, and after activity and never wait until 
they feel thirsty to drink. If children feel thirsty, their body is 
already dehydrated.
  It is with great pleasure that I join my fellow Tennessean, Coach Pat 
Summitt, six-time national champion NCAA Women's Basketball coach at 
the University of Tennessee, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, the 
National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA), Gatorade, and others in 
this admirable and worthwhile cause to educate parents about these 
health risks. As a physician, it is my hope that parents become active 
in this program to help their children defeat the heat.

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