Here's some of the bad news about sedentary lifestyles:
? Forty percent of children ages 5 to 8 show at least one heart disease risk factor, including hypertension and obesity, which among children has doubled over the past two decades.
? The first signs of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) are appearing at age 5 ? something never before seen in anyone under the age of 30.
? Children 6 to 10 are dying of sudden cardiopulmonary arrest.
? According to a recent Centers for Disease Control study, American children born in 2000 face a one-in-three chance of developing Type 2 diabetes ? what used to be called adult-onset diabetes!
? This is thought to be the first generation of children that won't outlive their parents.
The good news is that it doesn't take much to turn things around. We just have to make sure our kids are physically active! Following are some tips for making that happen:
1. Turn off the TV! Research shows children are being electronically entertained an average of five to six hours a week. Without electronics, they'll have to find other ways to keep themselves entertained.
2. Encourage your children to engage in active play. Research shows that the children who are most active are those whose parents have encouraged them to be active.
3. Play with your children! Blow bubbles for them to chase, play tag and hide-and-seek, put on an up-tempo song and boogie in the living room, or put on a John Philip Sousa march ? or break out the pots and pans ? and hold a parade around the house!
4. Serve as a role model, taking part in physical activity ? cheerfully ? yourself.
5. Take the children to parks, playgrounds, beaches, and on hikes during vacations and weekends ? instead of to amusement parks, where they'll stand in lines and then sit on rides.
6. Don't send the wrong message about physical activity by endlessly circling the parking lot for the spot closest to the door. Instead, make a game out of parking as far from the door as possible and finding different ways to get to it (walking backward, tiptoeing, jogging, or skipping).
7. When it's time for gift giving, select items like hula hoops; balls in a variety of shapes, sizes, and textures; roller skates; or a wading pool or swing set. When shopping for games, Twister has more to offer than a board game. And CDs with lively music are a better choice than movie videos.
8. Don't expect organized sports to take care of your child's physical activity needs. There's more waiting than moving in most organized, adult-directed games.
9. Fight to keep physical education and recess in your child's school ? or, if necessary, to get them back! The research shows that, among other things, physical activity contributes to a better attitude toward school and improves academic achievement and test scores!
10. Make sure your child associates physical activity with FUN!
Rae Pica is a children's physical activity specialist and the author of Your Active Child: How to Boost Physical, Emotional, and Cognitive Development through Age-Appropriate Activity (McGraw-Hill, 2003). Visit her and read more articles at http://www.movingandlearning.com
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