Childhood obesity is a growing issue in the United States, with obesity rates more than tripling in the last 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unfortunately, childhood obesity leads to a greater risk for adult obesity, which can put your child at a higher risk for several chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer. To combat childhood obesity, one of the leading recommended options is exercise.
Goals
While the CDC suggests that adults strive for 150 minutes of exercise a week, children are recommended to reach for a much higher rate with an hour a day of aerobic exercise seven days a week. Four of these days should include moderately intense exercise, while the remaining three days should include vigorous exercise.
Aerobic
With aerobic activity being broken down into two types, it's important to understand which activities fall under moderately intense, and which fall under vigorous. Moderately intense aerobic activities include things such as walking or light jogging, riding a bike and any play activities that cause your child's heart to beat a little faster and his breathing rate to increase slightly. Vigorous activities include running, jumping rope, playing soccer and other active sports or any other activities where your child's heart rate significantly increases and breathing rate is much faster than normal.
Strength Training
Although children do not need to be performing maximum weight lifts on a bench press, lighter strengthening exercises, such as lifting light weights or kettle balls, or resistance exercises like push-ups and sit-ups, play an important role in muscle development. The CDC recommends that a child's exercise routine include strength-building exercise at least three days a week.
Bone-Building Exercises
A child's bones continue to grow into the adolescent years, and children gain the greatest amount of bone mass during the years just before puberty stats. Certain types of exercise are more beneficial for bone strengthening than others, especially jumping exercises like jump rope. Any sport or activity that involves running also helps develop bone mass through impact with the ground.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: How much physical activity do children need?
- GirlsHealth.gov: What parents need to know about children's bone health.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Chapter 3: Active Children and Adolescents
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Childhood Obesity
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