CDC: High school students don’t exercise enough
High school students aren’t doing much running – and when they do run, there’s a good chance it’s to a vending machine.
Roughly one-third of high school students in the U.S. drink two or more sodas, sports drinks, or other sugary beverages per day, but only 15% get the one hour of daily aerobic exercise that health officials recommend, according to the results of a nationwide survey released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although 51% of students do engage in muscle-strengthening exercise (such as push-ups or weight lifting) at least three days a week, as guidelines recommend, the overall picture is less than ideal.
“Regular physical activity has so many benefits to kids,” says CDC researcher MinKyoung Song, Ph.D., who coauthored a report analyzing the survey results. “Not doing enough can lead to numerous problems later in life, like heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.”
2 responses to “High School Students need to MOVE!”
When I was in high school (early 90s) we were required to take 2 years of “PE”. The freshman course, one semester of Health and one semester of worthless game playing, was required. We had a myriad of elective courses to choose from to round out our second year. There was archery, bowling, something called Lifetime Sports which was a rehash of the second semester freshman course, and a few others. I chose a class called conditioning. 3 days of lifting and 2 days of running every week. It was probably the best PE class I’ve ever taken.
It seems that most of the kids who actually do something physical are participating in competitive sports that invariably lead to injury. How many football players or wrestlers actually make it through high school without having to see a doctor at least once due to strains, sprains or broken bones?
I’d really like to see something closer to the Crossfit program offered in High School. And bicycling. Bicycling is low-impact, safer than armoring up and banging into each other, and does wonders for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
Hi Scott, its so hard with all the budget issues in schools affecting PE. My kids only have PE 2x a week. In my HS we had PE every day…8th period for me so, when I learned they didn’t have it every day, i was shocked.
I agree — spinning, bicycling or CrossFit doesnt require much equipment and can reap a ton of benefit.
thanks for posting too!
steph