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Nation’s youth not getting enough exercise, report says
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Only about 17% of the nation’s high school students said they get at least an hour of physical activity, despite recommendations that advise this amount of activity, according to a report issued this week by the CDC.
The State Indicator Report on Physical Activity 2010 includes data about individual behaviors related to physical activity, as well as the presence or absence of physical features that can help or hinder physical activity.
“Regular physical activity is essential to overall health and can also help people maintain a healthy weight and reduce their risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases,” CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, said in a press release.
One underlying reason for adolescents’ sedentary lifestyles may be the lack of easy ways for youth to be physically active in their communities and schools. The report noted that only 20% of neighborhoods have parks within a half mile of their boundaries, and even fewer have a fitness or recreation center within that distance.
The report researchers also noted that schools and childcare centers cannot be counted on as a place where young people can get the physical activity they need during the week. Only eight states require children to be engaged in moderate or vigorous physical activity in their licensed, regulated childcare centers. Only 20 states require or recommend scheduled recess for elementary students, and only 37 states require elementary, middle and high schools to teach physical education, according to CDC researchers.
“An active lifestyle, combined with healthy eating, is the No. 1 way to prevent obesity and is key to preventing a host of serious obesity-related diseases,” said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“As chronic diseases place an increasing burden on the nation’s health care system, the need for improving policies and environments for physical activity is more important than ever,” William Dietz, MD, PhD, director of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, said. “This report can help states, communities and others work together to increase the number of Americans who live healthier lives by creating communities that support and encourage physical activity.”