According to a panel of experts assembled by the Divisions of Nutrition and Physical Activity and Adolescent and School Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, school-aged children should be getting 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity everyday.
With evidence that physical activity has greatly declined in the last 10 to 20 years, the panelists reviewed over 850 studies on physical activity in children and found that 30 to 45 minutes of exercise 3 to 5 days a week can boost the health of children. Based on these findings, experts recommend that children set a daily goal of at least one hour of exercise per day. This includes physical activity through physical education class, school recess, sports and before and after school play.
While most children should be able to meet this recommendation, the experts suggest sedentary children ease into physical activity by increasing physical activity by 10 percent every week.
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