Activate Your Life

According to KidsHealth.org, “the percentage of overweight kids has more than doubled over the past 30 years. Although many factors contribute to this epidemic, kids are becoming more sedentary. In other words, they’re sitting around a lot more than they used to.”

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the average child is watching about 3 hours of television a day. And the average kid spends 5½ hours on all media combined, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Young kids should not be inactive for prolonged periods of time — no more than 1 hour unless they’re sleeping. And school-age children should not be inactive for periods longer than 2 hours.

One of the best ways to get kids to be more active is to limit the amount of time spent in sedentary activities, especially watching TV or playing video games. The AAP recommends that children under the age of 2 years watch no TV at all and that screen time should be limited to no more than 1 to 2 hours of quality programming a day for kids 2 years and older

So what can a parent do to help??

Parents can engage in aerobic activities with their children, which is both fun and healthy.

Examples of aerobic activities include:

• basketball
• bicycling
• ice-skating
• in-line skating
• soccer
• swimming
• tennis
• walking
• jogging
• running

Combining regular physical activity with a healthy diet is the key to a healthy lifestyle.

Here are some tips for raising fit kids:

• Help your child participate in a variety of activities that are age-appropriate.
• Establish a regular schedule for physical activity.
• Incorporate activity into daily routines, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Embrace a healthier lifestyle yourself, so you’ll be a positive role model for your family.
• Keep it fun, so you can count on your child to come back for more.