06/25/2013 // Concord, CA, USA // LifeCare123 // Eva Hvingelby // (press release)
Is your child getting enough exercise? According to the American Heart Association, children need one hour or more of physical activity every day, with thirty minutes being strenuous enough to increase the heart rate. The hour of daily exercise can be split into shorter segments, should include a variety of activities and most importantly, be fun!
Research shows us that when children develop regular exercise habits, they are more likely to continue exercising as they grow older. Younger children play actively during recess; however, with adolescence socializing with friends becomes a priority and daytime activity levels drop. This leaves only your school’s Physical Education (PE) class as a source of exercise. Unfortunately, school PE programs are neither meeting basic requirements nor addressing the childhood obesity epidemic. Per the American Heart Association “few American schools meet [quality daily physical education] standards, and little evidence indicates that progress has been made toward attaining that goal.”
EVALUATING YOUR SCHOOL’S P.E. PROGRAM
It’s a good idea to understand your school’s PE program since the quality of classes and instructors vary greatly. Questions to ask include if the PE teacher has college level training in physical fitness, and if continuing education is required to ensure the teacher’s skills are maintained. Are there tailored activities for your child’s interests? PE classes have a historically high student to teacher ratio, and students may not receive enough individual attention. Highly competitive activities can be stressful and alienate them from exercise, so if your child complains about a bad experience intervene right away and work with the school to find alternatives.
PERSONALIZING THE FITNESS PLAN
The best approach to developing your child’s lifelong exercise habits is creating a personalized plan of activities geared toward individual interests. Spend time exploring various options and pursue the ones that excite your child. The American Heart Association found that after-school team sports have positive health effects. Regularly scheduled family activities such as hiking, biking or swimming are also successful; research demonstrates that home-based exercise activities improve children’s fitness. Dance and Marital arts classes are another great option and your community center may even offer low cost classes.
Finally, don’t forget to limit your child’s sedentary habits. Researchers at Stanford found that reducing screen time (television, computer and hand-helds) directly improved children’s weight. Using a timer to limit screen time and providing enjoyable activity alternatives helps ensure that one hour of exercise happens every day. By personalizing an activity plan around individual interests your child learns that exercise is fun, and begins to develop those very important life-long healthy habits.
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Pate, R., Davis, M., Robinson, T., Stone, E., McKenzie, T. & Young, J. (2006) American Heart Association Scientific Statement: promoting physical activity in children and youth. Circulation. 1215-1223
Ramstetter, C., Murray, R. & Garner, A. (2011) The crucial role of recess in schools. Journal of School Health. (80) 517-526
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