* Adolescents and young adults, both male
and female, benefit from physical activity.
* Physical activity need not be strenuous
to be beneficial.
* Moderate amounts of daily physical activity
are recommended for people of all ages. This
amount can be obtained in longer sessions
of moderately intense activities, such as
brisk walking for 30 minutes, or in shorter
sessions of more intense activities, such
as jogging or playing basketball for 15-20
minutes.
* Greater amounts of physical activity are
even more beneficial, up to a point. Excessive
amounts of physical activity can lead to injuries,
menstrual abnormalities, and bone weakening.
FACTS
* Nearly half of American youths aged 12-21
years are not vigorously active on a regular
basis.
* About 14 percent of young people report
no recent physical activity. Inactivity is
more common among females (14%) than males
(7%) and among black females (21%) than white
females (12%).
* Participation in all types of physical activity
declines strikingly as age or grade in school
increases.
* Only 19 percent of all high school students
are physically active for 20 minutes or more,
five days a week, in physical education classes.
* Daily enrollment in physical education classes
dropped from 42 percent to 25 percent among
high school students between 1991 and 1995.
* Well designed school-based interventions
directed at increasing physical activity in
physical education classes have been shown
to be effective.
* Social support from family and friends has
been consistently and positively related to
regular physical activity.
BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
* Helps build and maintain healthy bones,
muscles, and joints.
* Helps control weight, build lean muscle,
and reduce fat.
* Prevents or delays the development of high
blood pressure and helps reduce blood pressure
in some adolescents with hypertension.
WHAT COMMUNITIES CAN DO
* Provide quality, preferably daily, K-12
physical education classes and hire physical
education specialists to teach them.
* Create opportunities for physical activities
that are enjoyable, that promote adolescents'
and young adults' confidence in their ability
to be physically active, and that involve
friends, peers, and parents.
* Provide appropriate physically active role
models for youths.
* Provide access to school buildings and community
facilities that enable safe participation
in physical activity.
* Provide a range of extracurricular programs
in schools and community recreation centers
to meet the needs and interests of specific
adolescent and young adult populations, such
as racial and ethnic minority groups, females,
persons with disabilities, and low-income
groups.
* Encourage health care providers to talk
routinely to adolescents and young adults
about the importance of incorporating physical
activity into their lives.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion
Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity,
MS K-46
4770 Buford Highway, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724
1-888-CDC-4NRG or 1-888-232-4674 (Toll Free) http://www.cdc.gov/
The President's Council on Physical Fitness
and Sports
Box SG
Suite 250
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004