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| YOUR TOWN: Caroline | Culpeper | King George | Fredericksburg | Orange | Spotsylvania | Stafford | Westmoreland | |
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a RUNNiNG STaRT Active kids lay the groundwork for healthy lives
Active kids have better shot at being active, healthy adults
Date published: 4/23/2006
By KRISTIN DAVIS Breezy, 80-degree air and unblemished blue skies lured folks outdoors last weekend. Kids roller-skated and pushed scooters and pedaled bicycles through neighborhoods. Young teenagers shot basketball hoops in driveways and pitched baseballs across their yards. Families descended on parks, where toddlers stomped across mulch and pre-schoolers climbed ladders, soared on swings and zipped down slides. They weren't thinking about fitness. They were just having fun. But health experts say kids who get about an hour of activity each day are building a solid foundation for a healthy, active lifestyle later on. That applies even to toddlers. The fun, carefree exercise Fredericksburg-area children engaged in last weekend is just what they need. One in five children in the U.S. is overweight, reports the National Institutes of Health. "It's a total combination of factors," says Joseph Skelton, a medical doctor who specializes in childhood obesity at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Children are more sedentary than in years past. They've got TV, computers and PlayStations. "Boys are eating about 200 calories more a day than 20 years ago," Skelton said. "For girls it's 360." The food is also less healthy. The danger is that obese children will grow up to be obese adults with serious health problems. Simple, childhood games like hopscotch, jump rope and backyard Limbo now can make all the difference later, reports the Nemours Foundation, one of the nation's leading children's health systems. Turn chores into games. Take a walk after dinner. Head to a bike trail one Saturday. Follow the lead of these two families. 'The kids lead the way'Keri Raich knows all about a toddler's creativity. She watches it unfold every day at the Stafford County YMCA. She's the nursery manager there--and the mother of two boys, ages 4 and 6. Bring out some mats, balls, chairs or hula-hoops and the kids will stay active and amused for hours. The children build obstacle courses. They arrange all the chairs in a straight line and suddenly it's a train headed for Disney World. One child pretends to be a dinosaur and chases the others. "The kids lead the way," Raich said. The children will pull out the mats and nursery staff will arrange them into a hopscotch pattern, and teach them all about the game. Fitness can begin early.
Date published: 4/23/2006
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