Tag Archives: healthy-living

Pass your vacation fitness test this summer

Posted on July 14, 2014 | Leave a comment

Going on vacation can be relaxing for you and your family. But depending on what you do, it can also involve lots of activity. Hiking, watersports, even a long day at a theme park can be a good test of your fitness.  My Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week is about how an upcoming vacation is a good reason to get in shape.

Vacations are a great chance to get away, relax, and recuperate. They also present an opportunity to be active through hiking, cycling and many other pursuits. But even sightseeing and visiting theme parks can require far more activity than many people are accustomed to. In fact, many vacation activities are a good test of your fitness.

Unfortunately, many people find out the hard way—sore feet and achy legs, for example—that they weren’t prepared for this level of activity. The good news is that regular exercise can prepare you for your next vacation so you can focus on having fun, not your tired body.

There is good reason to choose an active vacation. Spending time outdoors can reduce stress and walking on the beach or snorkeling in the ocean seems like fun, not exercise. The end result is that being active on your vacation adds to the restorative effect of taking time away from your usual routine.

In one study people who had a physically active vacation reported that they felt mentally and physically fitter, felt more balanced and relaxed, could concentrate better during work, were in a better mood, and felt more recuperated than those who took it easy.

Even if you don’t choose a vacation to participate in a specific exercise you will likely spend time being active. Most vacation destinations are selected in part because there are interesting sights to see or are easy to get around without a car. This means you will be on your feet a lot more than usual.

Think about a family trip to Disney World. It is not uncommon for people to be on their feet for 12 hours and walk 10–15 miles in a single day. Most people don’t do that much walking in a typical week! This can lead to blisters, muscle soreness, and fatigue, limiting what you can do and, at the very least, making your time less enjoyable.

Since regular exercise promotes endurance and strength, being fit can make it easier to get through long days on vacation. If you spend much of your time sitting at work and home, visiting a museum or standing in long lines at a theme park can be daunting.

But if you spend more of your day up and moving you will have an easier time in these situations. A whole day walking around sightseeing can be exhausting, but less so if you are accustomed to taking long walks. That isn’t to say that you should walk for 10 hours each day, but regularly walking or do other activity for over an hour will help.

Here are some tips to help you prepare for your next active vacation. You should limit sitting and spend more time standing and moving around at work and at home. This will help you get ready for long days on your feet.

Dedicating 30 minutes each day to being active will build endurance, and you can get bigger benefits from doing more. If your vacation will include vigorous exercise, building strength through resistance training and flexibility through stretching or yoga can help you avoid injury.

Your goal should be enjoy your vacation and the extra activity it will likely include. In addition to the numerous other health benefits, improving your fitness through regular physical activity will help you appreciate your vacation time more with less stress, meaning you can return home relaxed and ready to take on your usual routine.

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Time to be active.

Posted on July 7, 2014 | Leave a comment

Regular physical activity is essential for good health and wellbeing. Despite the clear benefits of being active, less than half of Americans meet even minimum recommendations for exercise and other activity.

As a way to get people moving, they are encouraged to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine. This includes taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking further away and walking to their destination.

However, the perception that these “steps” take longer than the less active alternative may serve as a disincentive for many people. This is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

However, research suggests that this is not true. Studies conducted by my students at USC Aiken show that these more active forms of transportation do not necessarily take longer than the less active alternatives. In fact, in most cases the active way is quicker!

In one study, we examined the time required to ascend and descend one floor using either the stairs or elevator in a building on the USC Aiken campus. The results showed that the time required to take the elevator was about twice that to use the stairs (36 vs. 16 seconds). The increased time on the elevator was due to waiting, in some cases almost one minute, for it to arrive.

It is worth mentioning that this study was conducted in a building with two floors. To be sure, the elevator would be quicker if you were going up or down several floors. But let’s be honest, not many buildings in our area have enough floors for this to be relevant. For most of us, the stairs will be quicker most places we go.

In another study we compared the time required to park in the first convenient parking space in the parking lot as opposed to driving around searching for a space closer to the destination. We asked several people to record the time required to enter their destination after either parking in the first convenient space compared to searching for a parking space closer to the destination on campus and at businesses in the community.

The time required to search for a parking space closer to the destination was significantly greater than the time required to park in the first convenient parking space on campus and at stores. Driving around looking for a closer spot meant that it took an average of three minutes to enter the destination building. It took people about half that long if they parked further away and walked.

These studies show that taking a few extra steps in the parking lot or on the stairs is actually quicker than driving around and parking closer or using the elevator. This information might help people decide to be more active. And these small changes may lead to further healthy choices.

Of course, simply using the stairs instead of the elevator or talking the first available parking spot isn’t going to replace regular exercise. But making activity a part of your everyday routine is an important part of developing a healthy lifestyle.

Now that you know that active choices won’t necessarily slow you down, what ways will you save time by being active?

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Calories Still Count!

Posted on June 30, 2014 | 1 comment
The debate about whether diet and exercise are the cause of or good treatments for obesity has been going for some time. A familiar point of argument is the role of total calories vs. the source of those calories.A new model of how obesity illustrates how calories in, calories out may not be the initial step in the cascade of physiological and behavioral factors that lead to significant fat gain. But this doesn’t change the fact modifying eating and activity behaviors are a key step in the development of obesity—and the key to weight loss.This is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

Eat less, exercise more. Calories in, calories out.

These phrases are probably familiar to you if you have tried to lose weight. This is because these concepts make up the traditional explanation for why people gain weight and the most common method of losing weight.

More and more research suggests that gaining and losing weight might involve more that the simple math of counting calories. It may be that the source of the calories matters as much as the total amount that you eat.

However, this doesn’t mean that you can ignore the calories you eat and expend through exercise and other activity. While it may be true that the quality of the food we eat is important, calories still count.

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association proposes an alternative to the classic model of how weight gain occurs. Traditionally, an imbalance between calories in and calories out causes obesity. According to this model, eating too much and not being active enough results in increased fat storage.

The new model suggests that diet quality, especially the type and amount of carbohydrates, combined with genetics and lifestyle factors including getting enough sleep and excessive stress leads to fat accumulation. The excess fat alters levels of hormones and other factors that stimulate hunger and inhibit energy expenditure, including physical activity.

In the new model, increasing fat mass comes first and excessive food intake and inadequate activity follows. The end result is the same, though: a small increase in body fat turns into obesity.

This seems to suggest that carbohydrate intake, especially from refined grains and sugars, is the main culprit. This is good news for people who follow and promote low-carb diets! It also gives the impression that exercise isn’t as important as previously believed.

But a closer look at the new model shows that obesity—storage of excessive body fat—really is the result of too many calories in and too few calories out. The difference is that the eating and activity behaviors is driven by other factors.

The fact of the matter is that diet quality, genetics, and factors such as stress and sleep do play a role weight gain. Changes in hormones, sugars, and fats in the blood are real and powerful physiological signals that certainly contribute to obesity.

But so do changes in how much we eat and how active we are. It would be wrong to disregard these behavioral factors and the important role they play not only in body weight regulation, but in health in general.

Furthermore, the traditional calories in, calories out model of weight gain leads to a sensible treatment for obesity: Eat less, exercise more. Even though these simple recommendations can be challenging to implement, certainly in the long term, people who follow this advice do lose weight.

Even in the new model, calories in must be greater than calories out to lead to the significant fat gain that characterizes obesity. Additionally, the focus on the food quality is also consistent with this idea. People who get more of their calories from refined grains and sugars tend to consume more total calories.

As of now, the only treatments we have for obesity focus on changing energy intake and energy expenditure. This almost always involves altering eating and activity behaviors and frequently includes other lifestyle changes including stress management and getting enough sleep.

Given this new model of obesity, the best way to lose or maintain weight is not new at all: Eat less, move more, chill out!

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When normal isn’t normal.

Posted on June 25, 2014 | Leave a comment

The typical American is overweight, doesn’t get enough exercise, eats too few vegetables and fruits, too much sugar, and too many calories. Unfortunately, we have come to consider this combination as “normal.” While this situation may be common, it is definitely not normal. This is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

For most measures of health, a normal value is consistent with good health. A “normal” blood pressure is in a range that is associated with a low risk of stroke, for example. Someone with LDL (bad) cholesterol that is considered “above normal” has a greater risk of heart attack than a person with a normal LDL value.

But for many health indicators, having a normal value is not the norm. According to the most recent recommendations, a normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmHg. However, nearly 60% of adults have a blood pressure that is above normal, meaning they have hypertension or prehypertension.

A person who has a body mass index (BMI) in the normal range, between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2, is considered to be at a healthy body weight. But two-thirds of adults are overweight, with a BMI above the normal range. Similarly, participating in regular exercise should be considered normal. But it’s not, since fewer than half of adults meet minimum recommendations for physical activity.

The problem is that the term “normal” is frequently used to refer to what is typical, rather than what is healthy. Obesity is so common that a person who is at a healthy weight may look out-of-place. So many people look for ways to avoid physical activity that a person who walks instead of drives is considered abnormal. The person who comes away from a buffet with a less-than-full plate or who has a salad for dinner often gets strange looks. One of the reasons that people get noticed for doing these things is because they stand out from the crowd.

In reality, though, many of the health behaviors we consider to be abnormal—regular exercise, a healthy diet, or a lean physique—are, historically, completely normal. Until relatively recently, most everyone was active much of the day and spent little time being sedentary. Likewise, the consumption of the processed foods that are such a big part of our current diet was rare even a few decades ago.

It is likely that, by considering unhealthy behaviors to be normal, we have created a situation that discourages people from adopting a healthy lifestyle. As anyone who has tried to change their health habits knows, it can be a challenge, especially if everyone else maintains their typical eating and activity pattern. It’s not easy to be “the one” who only eats healthy food or who takes time to exercise every day.

Maybe we need to redefine normal health behaviors to reflect what is healthy rather than what is most common. When walking or biking rather than driving becomes the norm there will be greater incentive to provide safe places for pedestrians and cyclists to travel. When a healthy diet is considered normal it is more likely that restaurants will offer more nutritious options.

In the end, we would all benefit from changing our definition of normal. And a normal diet and activity pattern will go a long way to promoting a normal BMI, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

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Turning back time with exercise

Posted on June 17, 2014 | Leave a comment

My Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week is about the benefits of exercise…again. This time I focus on how exercise can improve strength, endurance, and bone density that tend to decline with age. Best of all, the benefits can be realized at any age—it’s never too late to start!

The benefits of regular exercise for everyone from childhood through old age are well-known. Children who are physically active establish healthy habits and do better in school than their peers who are more sedentary. Young adults who exercise are more likely to be active as they age, reducing their risk of heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases.

Older adults can maintain their memory, cognitive function, and ability to complete everyday activities by improving their fitness. At all ages, physical activity helps people maintain a healthy body weight.

Ideally, people would be active throughout their entire lifespan. What is more common, though, is that activity in childhood and young adulthood is replaced by a lifestyle that becomes increasingly sedentary over time. This can lead to a pattern of weight gain and declining fitness.

For many people the consequences may not be immediate, so there is no clear sign that the lack of exercise is having negative effects. But make no mistake, the health effects of inactivity accumulate over time eventually leading to conditions like obesity, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

Aside from the risk of chronic disease, years of inactivity can result in poor strength, endurance, and flexibility. This can lead to increased risk of injury and difficulty completing work and leisure activities. This is particularly true in older adults who are more likely to experience falls, broken bones, and prolonged disability due to poor strength and balance.

It is well-known that strength and endurance decline with age. Fitness decreases about 10% per decade, so that a 70 year-old has lost about half of the exercise capacity they had at 20 years of age. It turns out that this decline in fitness is due more to decreasing activity, not age itself.

Resistance training can lead to improvements in strength at all ages, but the biggest gains occur in the elderly. Beyond the impact on activities of daily living—carrying bags of groceries, for example—strength training can improve bone density. This is of particular concern for women.

Bone density peaks about age 25, so women who exercise achieve greater bone density when they are young. This means they can lose more bone mass as they age before they experience problems. Middle-age and older women can also reduce age-related bone loss by participating in regular exercise. In fact, exercise is essential for the effective treatment for osteoporosis.

There is good news for those who haven’t been exercising. You probably know that people who exercise now are less likely to suffer poor health in the future, provided they stay active. But research also shows that people who are out of shape now but improve their fitness also experience a reduced risk of many common health conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

It doesn’t matter when someone becomes active—the benefits can be realized at any age. In fact, one study showed that older men who begin a vigorous exercise program can improve their fitness to the level they were at 30 years ago. And these changes can occur in as little as six months.

The bottom line is that exercise can turn back time by reversing many effects of aging. Best of all, it is never too late to start. If you have fallen into a pattern of inactivity you can benefit from regular exercise no matter how old you are. So, what are you waiting for?

 

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Keep your cool this summer.

Posted on June 10, 2014 | Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again… time for my annual Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard about being active safely in the summer heat.

No doubt about it, summer is here. The kids are out of school, sports camps are underway, the playground is calling, and the lawn needs to be mowed. And it’s hot! But the high temperature and humidity doesn’t have to keep you from taking part in your favorite outdoor activities. By taking a few precautions, outdoor activities in the summer heat can be safe and enjoyable for your entire family.

1. Drink plenty of fluids

When it’s hot you have to sweat to lose heat and maintain your body temperature. High humidity makes sweating less effective, so you sweat even more. Losing lots of water through sweating can lead to dehydration. At the very least, you probably will feel fatigued but in more severe cases dizziness, low blood pressure, and fainting can occur.

For this reason it is important to drink plenty of fluids before, during and after your outdoor activity. As a general rule, a cup (8 oz.) of water every 15 minutes is sufficient for most people. Thirst is a good indicator of fluid needs, but you should take frequent breaks to rehydrate.

Make sure to remind kids to take breaks since they can get so busy playing that they forget. Water, juice, sports drinks, and other soft drinks are equally effective, so pick something you and your kids will drink.

2. Take breaks

The longer you are active the hotter you will get and you may feel more fatigued because of the heat. Taking frequent breaks will give you a chance to rest, cool down, and get something to drink.

3. Seek out shade

Being in the sun means that you will feel even hotter because you gain heat from the sun’s rays. Spending as much time as you can in the shade will help you stay cool. While this isn’t always practical for all activities, look for shady spots to take breaks.

Keep in mind that shady areas at will change throughout the day, so plan your trip to the park accordingly. Also be aware that direct sunlight can make outdoor surfaces like playground equipment very hot. This is another reason to find shady areas to play.

4. Pick cool clothes

Lighter colored clothing will reduce heat gain from the sun. Synthetic fabrics that wick sweat from the skin can help keep you feel cooler, too. And having more skin exposed will allow you to lose more heat.

5. Wear sunscreen

Sun exposure is the leading cause of skin cancer. Always use a broad-spectrum (both UVA and UVB rays) sunscreen and apply—and reapply—it according to the instructions. You should also protect your eyes by wearing a hat or sunglasses.

6. Avoid the hottest times of the day

Try to plan your outdoor activity in the morning or evening to avoid the hottest times of the day. Keep in mind that the highest temperatures often occur in the late afternoon or early evening, so right after work may not be the best time for outdoor activities. Early in the morning is probably the best time since it tends to be cooler and less humid.

You may not be able to plan your activities in the shade or when it is cooler. This is especially true for people who work outdoors. In these cases, drinking plenty of fluids and taking frequent breaks is particularly important.

These tips should help you and your family safely enjoy spending time outdoors this summer. And never underestimate the cooling power of a popsicle on a hot summer day!

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Stretch it out.

Posted on May 27, 2014 | 1 comment

My Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week is about stretching and flexibility. This is one aspect of  a comprehensive exercise program that you might be missing. Here’s why that is a problem and what you can do to start improving your flexibility.

 

The benefits of regular exercise include increased endurance, strength, and flexibility along with increased energy expenditure for weight loss and weight maintenance. These benefits will vary depending on the type of exercise you perform.

Endurance (aerobic) exercise will improve your cardiorespiratory fitness and endurance. These improvements allow you to exercise at a higher intensity or for a longer duration. Aerobic exercise like walking or jogging is also the most effective at burning calories.

Resistance training (weight lifting) will improve your muscular strength. The practical benefit is that you will have an easier time completing physical tasks at work or at home, something that is increasingly important as you get older.

Ideally, your exercise program will include a combination of endurance and resistance training. But there is another type of exercise that you should also include—stretching.

Stretching is an important and often overlooked part of an exercise program. Stretching exercises improve your flexibility and range of motion. This can help reduce back pain and muscle stiffness, improve your posture, and may reduce your risk of injury when you are active.

Here are some key points to keep in mind as you add stretching to your exercise routine:

  • Target major muscle groups. When you’re stretching, focus on your calves, thighs, hips, lower back, neck and shoulders. Also stretch muscles and joints that you routinely use at work or play.
  • Warm up first. The idea that stretching is a good warm-up before exercise is outdated. Stretching muscles when they’re cold increases your risk of injury, including pulled muscles. Warm up first by exercising at low intensity for five minutes or, better yet, stretch after you work out.
  • Hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds. It takes time for the muscles to stretch and lengthen. That can seem like a long time, so keep an eye on the clock or your watch. Then repeat the stretch on the other side. For most muscle groups, a single stretch is often sufficient if you hold it long enough.
  • Don’t bounce. While it might seem that bouncing would give you a better stretch, the opposite can be true. In extreme cases you could even damage the muscle making you less flexible and more prone to pain.
  • Focus on a pain-free stretch. You should expect to feel the stretch, but it shouldn’t cause pain. If it hurts, you’ve gone too far. Back off to the point where you don’t feel any pain, then hold the stretch.
  • Relax and breathe freely. Don’t hold your breath while you’re stretching. This is especially important if you are doing a workout that emphasizes stretching, like yoga.

Yoga is one example of an exercise that results in improved flexibility as well as promoting stress relief. There are different types of yoga, some of which improve strength and endurance along with flexibility. Yoga classes can be modified to accommodate even the least flexible participants, so don’t be afraid to try it.

You may want to start by stretching at two to three times a week to improve and maintain flexibility. Exercises that target the major muscle groups should take less that 10 minutes to complete, so this can easily fit into other activities.

As with any exercise, doing more can yield better results. If you have a problem area, such as tightness in the back of your leg, you might want to stretch more often. And keep in mind that you can stretch anytime, anywhere — in your home, at work, or when you’re traveling.

 

 

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Feeling the pressure

Posted on May 20, 2014 | 1 comment

May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month, a time to raise awareness about the diagnosis, health effects, and treatment of high blood pressure, also called hypertension. This is important because approximately 70 million U.S. adults have hypertension. Of those, almost 40% don’t even know it, which means they are not seeking treatment.

Another 30% have prehypertension, blood pressure that is above normal but does not meet the criteria for hypertension. Prehypertension is appropriately named since most people with this diagnosis eventually develop hypertension—unless they take steps to lower their blood pressure.

High blood pressure is a contributing factor to many heart attacks and strokes and is associated with type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and kidney disease. Hypertension is called the “silent killer” because it often has no symptoms yet it leads to serious health outcomes.

Here are some steps to help you celebrate National High Blood Pressure Education Month:

1. Know your numbers

Your blood pressure includes two numbers, both measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The top number, systolic, is the pressure in your arteries while your heart is contracting and pumping blood. The bottom number is the diastolic pressure, which occurs between beats when the heart is relaxed. Both numbers are important for assessing your risk of health problems.

Normal blood pressure is less than 120 mmHg systolic and less than 80 mmHg diastolic. Blood pressure that is 140 mmHg and higher or 90 mmHg and higher is considered hypertension. If your blood pressure is between 120–139 mmHg systolic or 80–89 mmHg diastolic, you have prehypertension.

2. Get it down

If your blood pressure is above normal you should take treatment seriously. Lifestyle changes including eating a healthy diet, regular physical activity, weight control, and quitting smoking are all effective and essential for lowering blood pressure.

There are also several good medications that your doctor can prescribe to lower your blood pressure. Take them as directed and don’t forget that they are designed to work with healthy lifestyle habits.

3. Keep it down

The aim, of course, isn’t simply to reduce your blood pressure using drugs. Your ultimate goal should be to keep your blood pressure low without relying on medications, all of which have at least some negative side effects.

The best way to maintain a normal blood pressure is through daily exercise, eating a healthy diet, losing weight if you are overweight, and quitting smoking. A good place to start is the DASH diet, which is high in fruits, vegetables, and fiber and low in sodium and added sugar.

The DASH diet has been shown to lower blood pressure and lead to weight loss. It is also consistent with recommendations to prevent and treat many other health problems, including diabetes and high cholesterol.

Since blood pressure tends to increase with age, even if you have normal blood pressure you should take steps to prevent high blood pressure in the future. Adopting a lifestyle that includes daily physical activity, healthy eating habits, managing stress, and not smoking is essential for preventing high blood pressure.

Additionally, these same health habits will help you prevent most other chronic disease including diabetes, heart disease, and many cancers. It turns out that celebrating National High Blood Pressure Education Month can also help you celebrate good health in general.

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Yesterday was National Chicken Dance Day. And that is good news for your health.

Posted on May 15, 2014 | Leave a comment

I can’t believe I missed it!

Yesterday was National Chicken Dance Day! Aside from being a favorite of children and wedding DJs, doing the chicken dance can help you meet physical activity goals to improve your health.

According to the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities, doing the chicken dance could burn as many calories as participating in an aerobic dance class.

Chicken dancing isn’t  specifically listed in the compendium, but it probably falls under category code 03031: general dancing (e.g., disco, folk, Irish step dancing, line dancing, polka, contra, country).

This type of dancing is listed at 7.8 METS, which is a geeky exercise scientist way of saying that you could burn about 10 calories per minute doing the chicken dance. Note: This is a rough estimate, of course. The actual amount depends on your body weight and how vigorously you do the dance.

That may not seem like much, but it’s a lot more than you would burn sitting at your desk at work or on the couch watching TV at home. So, why not celebrate (belatedly) National Chicken Dance Day by getting up and shaking your tail feather during breaks at work and TV commercials at home!

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The physical activity report card is in. We pretty much failed.

Posted on May 14, 2014 | Leave a comment

The spring semester just ended at the university where I teach. Which means my colleagues and I have been busy evaluating our student’s progress and submitting grades.

About this time, another report card came in from the National Physical Activity Plan evaluating physical activity in U.S. children. The results aren’t good. In fact, we pretty much failed! This is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

 

It’s probably no surprise that the majority of Americans are not active enough. Only about half of adults meet even the minimum recommendation for physical activity of 30 minutes per day, five days per week. Compounding this problem is the fact that many people spend much of their time at work and home being sedentary—some spend over 12 hours per day sitting!

Low levels of physical activity is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and, of course, obesity in adults. Becoming more active is probably the most important change a sedentary person can make to improve their health. The impact is similar to a smoker who quits.

What may be surprising is that this is a problem for children, too. Less than half of children ages 6–11 are active for 60 minutes per day. Among teenagers, it is less than 10%! The health effects of too little activity in kids is similar to that of adults.

The combination of inactivity and obesity can lead to “adult” diseases such as type 2 diabetes in young people. For this reason, some experts predict that this generation of children may be the first ever to die at a younger age than their parents.

Current recommendations call for children under the age of 18 to attain at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity at least five days per week. In younger kids this can be achieved through active play. In teens it is more likely to include organized sports and games.

The National Physical Activity Plan is a set of recommendations, programs, and initiatives designed to promote an active lifestyle at work, school, and home for all Americans. It was established by an alliance of health professionals and researchers.

This group recently released a report card on physical activity for children and youth that graded the success of efforts to promote activity in several areas. The results show that we are failing to meet even minimum goals and recommendations. Here is a summary of that report card:

Overall physical activity: D-. Only 42% of 6–11 year old children and just 8% of kids ages 12–15 meet the 60 minutes per day activity goal.

Sedentary behaviors: D. About half of all children spend more than the recommended upper limit of two hours of screen time, which includes TV, computer, and video games, per day.

Active transportation: F. Just over 10% of children walk or bike to school regularly.

Physical education in school: C-. Only about half of children attend at least one PE class per week.

Based on these grades, American children are not getting enough physical activity. But it isn’t fair to say that our children are earning these grades—it’s the adults who are failing! Most children are at the mercy of parents, teachers, and other adults who decide how they will spend their time at school and at home.

The report card shows that we are either not allowing our kids to be active enough or limiting opportunities for them to move and play. This isn’t necessarily a conscious effort, but is likely a consequence of the physical activity habits of adults that our children adopt.

Given the importance of regular activity for growth, development, health, and even academic success, getting our kids to be more active should be among our highest priorities. This requires both individual action and organized community efforts to make physical activity and exercise a part of every child’s day.

And while we are at it, we (the adults) should make this same effort. Perhaps the failing grades on the recent report card will motivate us.

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