Many of us spend a good portion of our days sitting at a desk or on the couch, eyes glued to the television or our smartphone. It can be easy to go days or weeks without any real physical activity, and it’s happening to our kids, too.
Getting regular exercise is a major key to lifelong health, no matter what your age. If you or your children are sitting for most of the day at school, work or home, there’s a good chance you all aren’t getting the exercise you need to be healthy.
Get active as a family
One great solution is getting active as a family. You don’t have to join a gym or run a marathon. It can be as simple as taking a walk after dinner, playing ball in the park, walking laps around the mall, going for a swim, taking a hike, playing tag, raking leaves, having a dance party or going for a bike ride. Choose something fun your family enjoys and make it work for your schedule.
Don’t have the time? Consider how many hours you spend each day on Facebook or watching television. If you have time for those activities, you have time for exercise. It can be tough to get motivated, but once you get active, you’ll feel significantly better and may not miss TV time at all.
The benefits of fitness
Exercise can change your life. Not only can it reduce your family’s risk of chronic diseases — such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, it can improve your mood, give you more energy and help you feel like your best self. Exercise has even been shown to reduce rates of some types of cancer in adults.
Think about what you want out of life: You want your kids to grow up healthy and you want to be there for them as long as possible, right? Getting active together can help you achieve these goals.
How much activity do you need to be healthy?
Based on current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Academy of Pediatrics, children and adolescents should get 60 minutes of active play or exercise daily at a moderate level of exertion.
The recommended minimum for adults is 2.5 hours per week of moderate intensity exercise (that’s just 30 minutes, five days a week) or 1.5 hours per week of high intensity exercise (18 minutes, five days a week), as stated by the American Academy of Family Physicians and American Heart Association.
Moderate activity for adults can be as simple as walking at a brisk pace, whereas for children riding a bike, playing sports, even recess activities at school can count.
If you are new to exercise, it’s important to get the okay from a doctor before starting a new regimen. To find a primary care physician near you, visit pardeehospital.org.
