Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

The Benefits of Physical Activity in School

School should support a cumulative curriculum that reinforces all aspects of childhood development, exercising kids minds, emotions, and odies, ut many schools have trou le alancing their focus et!een academics and everything else" Most nota le is the shrinking physical education in our nation" #ast year, a reported $$ percent of school administrators have cut time and funding from physical education, recess, and the arts since the passage of the %o &hild #eft Behind Act in '(()" &om ine those num ers !ith the fact that childhood o esity is at an all*time high+one in three kids in the ,nited States is over!eight or o ese" #ets take a look at physical activity, the current state of physical education, ho! it can enefit schools, and ho! you can help your kids get more active"

A Look at Childhood Obesity

&hildhood o esity has seen a significant increase over the years" -n fact, the num er of over!eight children in the ,"S" tripled et!een )./( and '(('" Much of this has come from the gro!ing trend of sedentary lifestyles mixed !ith poor nutrition, rought on y the convenience of fast food, sugary everages, and over*processed snack foods" &hildhood o esity puts kids at risk for a !ide range of immediate health issues0 Before people develop type ' dia etes, they develop a condition kno!n as predia etes" 1ith predia etes, a child exhi its higher than normal lood glucose levels that indicate a heightened risk of dia etes" A sample of kids aged 2 to )3 revealed that a out 3( percent of o ese children sho! at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including high lood pressure and high cholesterol" &hildhood o esity also puts strain on the ody, leading to greater !ear on the ones and 4oints" 5 esity is also linked to sleep disorders, particularly sleep apnea" 6ue to the great social stigmati7ation of o esity, o ese children often ecome targets of ullying and develop poor self*esteem and lo! confidence, among other social and emotional issues"

Ho!ever, the !orst part a out childhood o esity is that it often foreshado!s ill health in adulthood" 5 ese kids and adolescents are more likely to e o ese as adults, !hich puts them at an even greater risk for health issues, including0 Heart disease Stroke Type ' dia etes 5steoarthritis 8arious forms of cancer 9 reast, colon, kidney, prostate, and more:

The Need for Physical Activity

Physical activity uilds strong muscles, 4oints, and ones, gives kids the opportunity to expend some energy, and improves cognition and focus for increased academic performance+all of these are fundamental to the development of a gro!ing child" Ho! much physical activity do kids really need; -n general, at least <( minutes a day" That sounds like a lot, ut spread over the course of the day, its easily managea le" =ou can reak do!n that hour into three types of physical activity0 Aerobics0 Aero ic exercises get the heart pumping, ody s!eating, and lungs expanding to urn calories" The ma4ority of a childs physical activity should comprise aero ics" This includes moderately intense exercises, like going for a !alk, and vigorously intense exercises, like going for a run or ike ride" >ids should take part in vigorous activities at least ? days a !eek" Bone strengthening0 Bone strengthening exercises usually involve some form of impact to help ones gro! and stay strong" This includes hopscotch, 4umping rope, skipping, and sports like volley all and tennis" Muscle strengthening0 Push* ups, sit*ups, and resistance exercises uild a childs physical strength"

To determine levels of intensity, think of a )(*point scale" A )( is the highest level of activity, !hile a 7ero is sitting do!n" Moderate intensity exercise should e a 2 or < on the scale" 8igorous intensity !ill e a 3 or /"

Activity Levels of Todays Youth

As necessary as physical activity is to a childs health and livelihood, its unfortunately not as common as one !ould hope" -n '((<, .2"'@ of high schools, /?".@ of middle schools, and <."?@ of elementary schools had a physical education reAuirement" Ho!ever, only '")@ of high schools, 3".@ of middle schools, and ?"/@ of elementary schools provided physical education every day for the entire school year"

-n '((3, only )3@ of high school students !ere physically active at least <( minutes a day" -n '()', childhood inactivity rates increased" )."2@ of kids age < to )' !ere inactive, !hile )."'@ of kids age )? to )3 !ere inactive" At first, its strange to see ho! much our youths physical activity levels have dropped, ut there are a lot of factors that have contri uted to our societys gro!ing inactivity" Bor one, technology" Television, computers, video games, and mo ile phones have rought more convenience to life and provided ne! mediums of creativity, ut they also promote a sedentary lifestyle" Technology also includes ne! modes of transportation" -n '((), only a out )?@ of kids iked or !alked to school" &ompare that to ).<., !hen up to $)@ of kids iked or !alked to school" Passive modes of transportation, most commonly the car, have replaced more active means of getting from point A to point B" The decades have also seen societys increased ur ani7ation" 6ensely packed cities accommodate larger populations, ut they dont do much to advocate physical activity" ,r an environments often give !ay to0 #o! air Auality High traffic 8iolence and crime A lack of side!alks, parks, sports facilities, and other venues !here kids can safely and easily exercise or get active

The Benefits of Physical Activity

Staying active comes !ith a !hole host of health enefits, even aside from !eight management, including0 Stronger ones and muscles A decreased risk of type ' dia etes #o!er lood pressure #o!er cholesterol levels

But exercise is a out more than 4ust physical !ellness" -t can enefit kids mentally as !ell" Studies sho! that those !ho exercise have improved thinking skills, and regular physical activity has een sho!n to contri ute to academic success" A study found that kids that exercised for '( minutes scored higher on reading comprehension and

math tests" A sample of nearly ',((( kids from &alifornia !ho !ere outside the 7one of healthiness scored lo!er on standardi7ed tests" -n Ceorgia, researchers invited a group of over!eight children to participate in an exercise program, !herein they !ere active for at least '( minutes" A group of !aitlisted students acted as the control" After )? !eeks, the group that participated in the exercise program sho!ed higher scores on standardi7ed math tests and etter performance in tests of asic mental tasks" Degular physical activity also offers plenty of social and psychological enefits" Studies sho! that freAuent exercise can control symptoms of depression and anxiety" Physical activity also helps children in their social development, uilding self* confidence and providing ne! mediums for self*expression" 1ith proper physical education, exercise can also keep kids from falling into other unhealthy ehaviors and instill ideas of positive ody image" Exercise during the day has a significant influence on ho! kids sleep at night" Desearch sho!s that for every hour a child is inactive it takes another three minutes for him to fall asleep" 1hile that doesnt mean kids need to e active every single second of every day, it does mean that extended periods of inactivity !ont help a child !ho already has sleep issues"

P ! and "chool
But physical activity goes even eyond individual health" -ncreasing physical education is eneficial to school on a grander scale" Studies found that physical activity improves attendance y keeping illness at ay" Students !ho are physically fit have sho!n higher academic performance through etter grades and higher standardi7ed test scores" Physical activity also accommodates etter classroom ehavior !ith an increase in attention span, concentration, and general mental a ility"

These all contri ute to an improved school environment and opportunities for higher funding in the long term, not to mention healthy ha its that are sure to last a students lifetime"

#$%roving Physical Activity

That said, !hat can you do as a parent to encourage your kids to e more active; Li$it sedentary activities0 Theres nothing necessarily !rong !ith playing video games, !atching T8, or surfing the !e , ut the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than a couple hours of screen time a day" That free time is etter spent doing something active" &ind so$ething fun0 Part of the difficulty of getting kids to get into physical activity is that they are too often forced to do something they dont en4oy" The more your child en4oys the activity, the more likely shell participate and

continue" Bortunately, there are a ton of different sports and exercises out there" Try out a fe! and see !hat your kids like" 'et the fa$ily involved0 Singling out 4ust one of your kids is alienating and makes the process of getting regular physical activity 4ust that much more of a chore" The fact is, exercise is good for the !hole family, regardless of si7e, !eight, or age, so make etter health a goal for the !hole family" =ou can go for an after*dinner stroll or en4oy a morning 4og together, for example" (alk or bike to %laces0 Cetting from point A to point B has een simplified thanks to automated transportation, ut consider !alking and iking to places more, !hether its school, the post office, or the grocery store" -t adds an extra it of physical activity to your day and saves you gas" )ont overdo it" 1hile muscles do get sore, your kid should never feel any pain !hen she exercises" Teach her to listen to her ody" Pushing too hard isnt good for the ody" Exercise shouldnt interfere !ith school and everyday activities" =our childs !eight shouldnt drop elo! average" Demem er that exercise is a out eing healthy, not looking a certain !ay"

The childhood o esity epidemic isnt something that !ell solve overnight" 1ith a concerted, national effort, !e can give our kids the opportunity to e healthy and encourage a positive ody image, ut it all starts !ith !hat you do individually" The kids are our future, so give your kids a fighting chance" And dont forget to have funF

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