HOW TO GET KIDS MOVING
Stop using the word "exercise": As adults, we talk about getting exercise and working out. But kids don't want to "work out," they want to play. Instead of "exercise," talk about "playtime" and "be active."
Break it up: Sometimes getting active for an hour a day can sound like a lot for kids. Make it easier by breaking up the 60 minutes into smaller bursts of play throughout the day — a 20-minute-long family walk, 20 minutes of shooting hoops outside, 15 minutes of playing tag.
Go for fun: Encourage activities that are both fun and physical, like hopscotch, jumping rope, tag and hide-and-go-seek.
Take it inside: On days when it's raining, too hot or you just want to gather under the same roof, turn on the music and dance. Have one person in charge of the music and have everyone freeze when the music is turned off. Other ideas for inside include blowing up balloons and playing volleyball or baseball inside. Have animal races. Take turns calling out an animal name. When an animal is called, everyone has to move like that animal to a finish line. Make the animal noise, too, and you will have everyone laughing.
One step at a time: You don't have to go full throttle on the activity level right away. It's OK to start building movement into your day slowly and increasing the amount and intensity over time. The important thing is to remember that some is better than none.
SOURCE: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Strong4Life. For more tips, go to www.strong4life.com/play.
Fewer than half of children between the ages of 12 and 15 are considered physically fit, as measured by cardiorespiratory fitness, marking a sharp decline from a decade ago, according to a new study being released Wednesday.
Overall, 42 percent of children between the ages of 12 and 15 had adequate levels of cardiorespiratory fitness in 2012 in a national sampling of 450 kids. The study is being released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest figure is down from 52 percent in the 1999-2000 health survey.
Boys fared far better, with 50 percent of them having adequate levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, compared to 34 percent among girls of the same age. The findings did not differ by race or family income. The study also revealed overweight children were more likely to fall short of adequate levels of cardiorespiratory fitness. The results didn’t include a state-by-state background.
“This should be a huge wake-up call that our kids need to be outside more and physically active,” said Dr. Stephanie Walsh, medical director of child wellness, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “There are so many benefits from being physically active from being in better moods and happier to sleeping better and better focusing on school work.”
Levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, also known as aerobic capacity or aerobic fitness, were measured through “exercise stress testing.” The youngsters walked at various speeds and inclines on treadmills, and then their heart rates were monitored.
Cardiorespiratory fitness is not the only component of being physically fit, which also includes muscular strength and flexibility, but it’s considered a key piece of overall physical health. Cardiorespiratory fitness is a measure of how well your body is able to transport oxygen to your muscles during prolonged exercise, and also how well your muscles are able to absorb and use the oxygen. In other words, your cardiorespiratory fitness level is a measure of the strength of your aerobic energy system.
Walsh said physical activity must be promoted with everything from regular recess at school to families finding ways to be active together. Walsh said kids naturally love to move at a young age. She called for a different mindset.
“Is OK for you to take away recess for kids acting out? That should never be the option for the kid acting out,” she said. “They really need it, and if you take it away, it will hamper the rest of their day.”
Walsh said she’s encouraged by several steps underway to help Georgia kids be healthier. From implementing fitness assessments for students to schools across the state committing to incorporating 30 or more minutes of cardio into their already time pressed day, schools have increased their commitments to get kids moving more. Walsh said these measures may soon start showing up in studies and surveys, but said there’s a bit of a lag time.
“We have to take small steps and don’t expect to go from zero (exercise) to 60 (minutes a day), but we can go from 10 to 20 minutes and gradually get to 60. We got here slowly and we are going to get out of here slowly.”
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health, which administers Georgia SHAPE and Power Up for 30 (which encourages schools to add 30 minutes of exercise into the school day), said with Georgia mired in an obesity epidemic, “physical activity is a game-changer.”
“We have the resources to change that …,” she said in an e-mail. “We must get our children moving more. Thirty minutes of physical activity — every day, every school, every child in Georgia.”
About the Author
