Promote
Health & Fitness: Increase
Physical Activity
Regular physical activity for children
and adolescents can enhance health by reducing the risk
factors for chronic disease. National data indicates that 30%
of youth in the United States ages 6-19 are either overweight
or at risk of becoming overweight.
The number of overweight children has tripled in the
past thirty years.
2001
North Dakota High School Data (Self-Reported) (http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/health/region912.pdf)
·
About 40% report not getting a sufficient amount
of vigorous physical
activity. (Vigorous
activity was defined as sweating and breathing hard for >20
minutes on 3 or more of the 7 days preceding the survey.)
·
About 74% report not getting sufficient moderate
activity. (Moderate
activity was defined as activity which did not cause sweating
or breathing hard for >30 minutes per day for 5 out
of 7 days preceding the survey.)
·
About 48% report being enrolled in a physical education class. Only about 32% attend
a physical education class on a daily basis.
·
About 26% report watching 3 or more hours of television per day.
What
can parents do to increase the physical activity of youth?
·
Limit
screen time. Studies
indicate that children who spend more screen time have a
higher body mass index, an indicator of body fat, compared to
those with lower viewing time.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that parents limit
viewing time for youth to two hours or less per day. Have
your children keep a log of time spent in front of the screen
and then make decisions together
about screen time and alternative activities.
·
Create a
list of alternative activities for your children.
Provide opportunities
for children to become involved in creative play and craft
activities. Develop
skills useful in adult life such as cooking or gardening.
Extension 4-H project books
would provide an excellent resource. (http://www.bam.gov)
·
Parents
need to serve as a role model and be physically active. Children learn by example
as well as by verbal direction. Learn and practice physical
activity skills that can be used throughout life such as
walking, biking, running, swimming, and hiking. Doing
activities together, including household chores, helps build
cohesive family units. (http://www.fitness.gov/funfit/10tips.htm)
·
Parents
can advocate for daily physical activity in their children’s
schools. Physical education
needs to focus on development of skills for pursuits available
throughout one’s life and not just team sports.
Obtain information from the American Alliance for
Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (http://www.aahperd.org),
a nonprofit organization of professionals involved in fitness
and physical activity
fields.
·
Parents
can help their community to develop outdoor and indoor
recreation facilities and programs. Some
communities have advocated for and found public funds or grant
money to build bike and walking paths. Parents can support the development of
classes and intramural
sports events available after school and in the summer.
Parents can volunteer to
assist with various recreational activities at school and
in the community. (http://www.cdc.gov/verb)
Information
provided by:
Jane U
Edwards, Ph.D.,LRD, NDSU Extension Specialist, Nutrition &
Health, Dept HNES, Fargo, ND, jedwards@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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