In Section 3, students will learn more about physical activity and its role in maintaining a healthy body weight. There is an overview of different types of exercises and the benefits of each, as well as descriptions of fitness equipment for each type of exercise. This section reviews exercise recommendations for teens and include several interactive ways to help students determine which physical activities they would enjoy.
Types of Physical Activity
United States National Guidelines recommend that adolescents engage in physical activity for a minimum of 60 minutes most days.
Most of those 60 minutes will be aerobic, but some should also be muscle strengthening and some should be bone strengthening. Running, hopping, skipping, jumping rope, swimming, dancing, and bicycling are all examples of aerobic activities. Aerobic activities increase cardiorespiratory fitness.
Muscle-strengthening activities include playing on playground equipment, climbing trees, and playing tug-of-war as well as lifting weights or working with resistance bands. Running, jumping rope, basketball, tennis, and hopscotch are all examples of bone-strengthening activities because they produce a force on the bones (impact) that promotes bone growth and strength.
- For the child with type 2 diabetes, regular physical activity may help to achieve a healthier body weight; for the child with type 1 diabetes care should be taken to recognize, prevent, or treat hypoglycemia.
- Blood glucose taken before exercise and after exercise will guide the use of carbohydrate intake to regulate blood glucose.
- The child with type 1 diabetes should have a care plan and a medic alert bracelet or other identifiers.
Fun Physical Activity for Daily Life
Physical activity doesn't have to mean going to a gym. Everyday life has plenty of opportunities for being active. The key to staying physically active is to find those activities that you enjoy doing.
As children become older, physical activity often declines. This is especially true for girls. Children who are heavier also may avoid physically active activities. Children who are not athletic may also avoid being active. Non-competitive games may be a better choice for some children, while others prefer some competition, even if it is with themselves.
Take a Walk
Walking is a non-competitive, individual-type activity. Children need to be safe while walking, however. Many schools have participated in the Kids Walk to School programs sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The goals of Kids Walk to School are to
- Encourage children to walk and bicycle to and from school.
- Increase awareness of the importance of regular physical activity for children, improved pedestrian safety, and healthy and walkable community environments.
- Mobilize communities to work together to create safe routes to school.
Anticipated benefits of the Kids Walk to School program include
- Increased levels of daily physical activity for children.
- Increased likelihood that children and adults will choose to walk and bike for other short-distance trips.
- Improved neighborhood safety.
- Fewer cars traveling through the neighborhood.
- Fewer cars congesting the pick-up and drop-off points at the school.
- Friendlier neighborhoods as people get out and about interacting with one another.
Supplemental Activity: Discuss or have students research how the heart and lungs work together. Have students identify activities they are already doing, would like to do or plan to do. Discuss how physical activities may change with the season.