Get Active
Physical activity is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. In combination with healthy eating, it can help prevent a range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and stroke, the three leading causes of death. Physical activity helps control weight, builds lean muscle, reduces fat, promotes strong bone, muscle and joint development, and decreases the risk of obesity. Children need 60 minutes of active and vigorous play every day to grow up to a healthy weight.
If this sounds like a lot, consider that 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 1/2 hours to using entertainment media including TV, computers, video games, cell phones and movies in a typical day, and only a third of high school students get the recommended levels of physical activity. To increase physical activity, today’s children need safe routes to walk and ride to school, parks, playgrounds and community centers where they can play after school and be active in sports, dance or fitness programs that are exciting and challenging to keep them engaged.
Let’s Move! to increase opportunities for kids to be physically active, both in and out of school and create new opportunities for families to be moving together.
- Active Families: Building in a few minutes of activity periodically during the day keeps energy flowing.
- Active Schools: A variety of opportunities are available for schools to add more physical activity into the school day including: additional physical education classes, before and after school programs, recess, and opening school facilities for student and family recreation in the late afternoon and evening.
- Active Communities: Mayors and community leaders can promote physical fitness by working to increase safe routes for kids to walk and ride to school, parks, playgrounds and community centers, and sports and fitness programs.
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