“Only one quarter of children aged 6 to 15 meet the current
guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate physical activity per day,” said Dr.
Russell R. Pate, chairman of the non-profit National Physical Activity Plan
(NPAP) Alliance, which issued the first U.S. report card on Physical Activity
for Children and Youth.
The report is based on public data and provides a snapshot
of the state of youth physical activity in America. The 2014 grades were the
worst yet.
NPAP evaluated 10 key indicators, from overall physical
activity to organized sports participation, and the number of children who
cycle or walk to school. It found that since 1969, the proportion of elementary
and middle-school students walking or cycling to school dropped from 47.7% to
12%.
Additionally, “Kids who come from higher incomes are participating
(in sports),” said Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, a fellow of the American College of
Sports Medicine and chairman of the research committee that issued the report card. “Lower economic groups are not participating.
There’s a lot more work to do to make these activities available to everyone.”
How can parents encourage their children to be physically
fit while celebrating the beautiful spring weather and having fun with low-cost
activities? Play outdoors. I
believe that parents need to make physical activities and games FUN for the
whole family. The key to successful participation is creativity and
positive reinforcement as well as scheduling a regular time during the week as
“family playtime.”
Here are a few ideas that I love and suggest to the parents
of the children who attend my fitness facility, Fitness for Health:- Reenact
Wimbledon using homemade racquets. Bend a wire hanger
into an oval, cover the oval using old pantyhose, and then duct tape a
wooden paint stirrer to create a handle. Crumple a used piece of
paper to create the “ball” or “birdie” and play tennis in your own yard.
- Go bowling in
your yard. Before you recycle, gather empty water or juice bottles
to use as pins. Add a ball and you’ve created a personal bowling
alley!
- Play
baseball using a homemade bat. Wash and dry an
empty 2-liter bottle. To make the bat more durable, use an18-inch wooden
rod or a stick. Place the rod in bottle and duct tape the
remaining portion of the rod to the bottle opening. Use with Wiffle
balls, wadded socks, crumpled paper – anything you can imagine!
To learn about fun, fitness programs designed specifically
for children and teenagers, visit www.FitnessForHealth.org
or call 301-231-7138 to schedule a free tour of Fitness for Health’s children’s
fitness facility.
No comments:
Post a Comment