Why Kids Need to Start Exercising– Now!

Kids mimic everything their parents do, and that means they also mimic how – or if – they exercise, a pattern that can establish a path towards living a healthy or unhealthy life that can last their entire lives.

Let’s take a look at some compelling statistics:

First, the facts:

• Children might be living in the most health conscious period in history, but, sadly, that doesn’t guarantee they’re healthy. Rates of childhood obesity have more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years in the U.S., reaching 18 percent for children 6-11 and 21 percent for children 12-19. And type 2 diabetes, a disease once largely reserved for adults and caused by poor lifestyle habits, including lack of exercise, is rapidly overtaking type 1 diabetes as the most common form in children.[1]
• While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that young people aged 6–17 years participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily, in 2013, only 27.1% of high school students surveyed had participated in at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity on all seven days before the survey, and only 29% attended physical education class daily.[2]
• Children spend more time than ever hunched over glowing screens—an average of six to seven hours a day according to a recent survey in the UK—and doctors report an alarming increase in “tech neck” in children, a backwards curve in their neck and spine caused by staring down at screens for extended periods.[3]
• The stats show fewer girls than boys participate in some form of physical activity daily: 17.7% of females versus 36.6 % of boys.[4]

The good news

• A study by the American College of Sports Medicine found that the more children participated in a sport or other vigorous activity, the better they did in school– and they were better able to concentrate and exhibited fewer behavior problems.
• And a study reported in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found physical activity is associated with better academic performance, as measured by higher GPAs and better scores on standardized tests.[5]

Start kids early

Armed with more options and resources than ever before,  more parents are exercising with their kids from the moment they are born: stroller runs and walks, mommy and me yoga classes, swimming lessons, and just playing hide and seek with your toddler are fun ways to build good exercise habits that will last a lifetime.

As your child grows, encourage her to participate in a soccer league or a dance class and get involved with the activities she likes best; lobby her school to be sure some form of exercise is part of the daily curriculum; and plan family vacations that involve fun, physical activities from surfing to nature hikes.

We think that establishing healthy exercise habits at an early age is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children. Making long-term lifestyle changes is exceedingly difficult, and is much easier if the need for these changes never develops!

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[1] Spafinder Wellness, 2016 Global Spa & Wellness Trends Report, “Parenting Well,”  https://www.spafinder.com/blog/trends/2016-report/wellness-for-kids/  December 2016.

[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Physical Activity Facts,” https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm

[3] The Telegraph, “Children ‘becoming hunchbacks’ due to addiction to smart phones.” October 2015.

[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Physical Activity Facts,” https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm

[5] Time magazine, “Let the Kids Play,” July 3, 2012.