For Parents Healthy Start: Get Your Kid To Walk Or Bike To School (NAPSA)—Getting your kids to walk or bike to school is a healthy idea. Especially when you consider that, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, one in six children ages 6 to 19 is overweight, an increase of 45 percent in the past 15 years. Exercise is a fitting way to battle the obesity epidemic that is threatening the health of many children. But only one in three kids in grades 9 through 12 gets the minimum suggested amount of Steps To Health—Even on rainy days, safe walking-to-school pro- grams help kids get exercise and stay healthy. exercise, which is 20 minutes, three times a week. Fewer physical education classes and recess peri- ods, and more time in frontoftelevision and computer screens, are reducing the timekidsare active. Fewer children being driven to school can also mean a big reduction in traffic; up to 20 percent of the morning rush hour in many communities is actually the “school rush.” For tips on what parents can do to fight obesity and keep their kids healthy, visit the Active Living Resource Center’ at www.activelivingresources.org/ parents.php.
