Physical
Activity and Children and Adolescents
Knowledge Path
September 2006
Table
of Contents |
General
Resources
Special Topics
Please provide feedback on
this knowledge path. |
General Resources
Introduction
This knowledge path about
physical activity and children and adolescents
has been compiled by the Maternal
and Child Health Library at
Georgetown University. It offers a selection
of recent, high-quality resources that
analyze data, describe public health
campaigns and other promotion programs,
and report on research aimed at identifying
promising strategies for improving physical
activity levels within families, schools,
and communities. The knowledge path also
provides resources that describe the
consequences of sedentary behavior. The
knowledge path is aimed at health professionals,
policymakers, educators, coaches, and
families, and it will be updated periodically.
Related knowledge path topics: Child
and adolescent nutrition and Overweight
and obesity in children and adolescents.
Overview
Web Sites: A-Z
- American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Physical
Activity.
Contains patient education brochures
and policy statements on topics
that include promoting physical
activity, safety tips for home
playground equipment, organized
sports, physical fitness and activity
in schools, and strength training.
- American
Alliance for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).
Includes publications, program
information, and links to a research
consortium and
each of the alliance organizations
that represent professionals in
physical education, health education,
recreation, dance, and sports.
The organizations are the American
Association for Health Education
(AAHE),
the American
Association for Physical Activity
and Recreation (AAPAR),
the National
Association for Girls and Women
in Sport (NAGWS),
the National
Association for Sport and Physical
Education (NASPE),
and the National
Dance Association (NDA).
NASPE, the largest of AAHPERD's
national associations, works to
improve physical education, sport,
and physical activity programs
through research, development of
standards, and dissemination of
information. NASPE recently published
Shape
of the nation report: Status
of physical education in the
USA.
(2006). This report provides
information about the status
of physical education in each
of the states and the District
of Columbia. The report emphasizes
the importance of high-quality,
daily physical education programs
for children and adolescents
and provides information that
can be used to support efforts
to expand and improve physical
education programs.
Also see NASPE-Talk and NASPE-Forum.
- American
College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
Offers research grant and conference
information, online learning tools,
position statements, consumer health
and fitness brochures, and other
resources about the motivation,
responses, adaptations, and health
aspects of people engaged in sports
and exercise, including children
and adolescents.
- American
Council on Exercise (ACE): Youth
Fitness.
Offers fact sheets and other materials
for health and education professionals
and families to help promote physical
fitness among children and adolescents.
ACE is an international, nonprofit
fitness certification and education
provider.
- American
Heart Association (AHA): Children
and Exercise.
Contains links to fact sheets and
position statements about the importance
of physical activity for children
and adolescents. Also links to
program information for school-based
physical activity programs, Jump
Rope for Heart and Hoops
for Heart, HeartPower,
an online curriculum-based program
for teaching about the heart and
how to keep it healthy, and the Alliance
for a Healthier Generation Healthy
Schools Program.
- Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
Supports several initiatives and
offers many resources to improve
physical activity among
children, adolescents, and adults
that include
Guide
to Community Preventive Services:
Physical Activity.
Contains recommendations for
population-based interventions
to increase physical activity
that are appropriate for use
by communities and health care
systems. Recommendations are
focused on interventions in
three areas: (1) informational
approaches to increasing physical
activity, (2) behavioral and
social approaches to increasing
physical activity, and (3) environmental
and policy changes to increasing
physical activity.
Physical
Activity Resources for Health Professionals.
Offers information and tools for
state and local health departments,
schools and universities, community
coalitions, organizations that
fund public health programs, health
care systems, and other groups
that have an interest in or responsibility
for increasing physical activity.
Provides key reference documents, data
and surveillance resources,
information to assist with program
planning and evaluation, and ideas
for physical activity promotion.
Resources include
Tobacco-Free
Sports Initiatives.
Offers materials to help coaches,
school administrators, and state
and local health departments promote
the importance of choosing an active
and tobacco-free lifestyle.
Also see these additional
CDC resources: Healthy
Youth!, BAM!
Body and Mind, Powerful
Bones. Powerful Girls, VERB:
It's What You Do, Designing
and Building Healthy Places, Active
Community Environments, Data
and Surveillance: An Explanation
of U.S. Physical Activity Surveys, Data2010:
The Healthy People 2010 Database, State-Based
Physical Activity Program Directory,
and State
Legislative Information.
- Disabled
Sports USA.
Contains information about its
nationwide sports rehabilitation
programs for anyone who has a permanent
physical disability.
- FitSource:
A Web Directory for Providers.
Lists links to activities, lesson
plans, healthy recipes, information
for parents, and other online tools
that can be used to incorporate
physical activity and nutrition
into child care and after-school
programs. FitSource is a service
of the Child
Care Bureau.
- Girls
on the Run (GOTR).
Offers information about this nationwide
program to promote physical activity
and healthy behaviors among girls
in grades 3 to 8.
- Healthy
People 2010.
Describes this national health-promotion
and disease-prevention initiative
created by a broad coalition of
experts from many sectors to improve
the health of all Americans, eliminate
disparities in health, and improve
years and quality of healthy life. Healthy
People 2010 includes
10 leading health indicators that
will be used to measure the health
of the nation. Physical activity
is the number one leading health
indicator, and there are several Healthy
People objectives
concerning physical activity for
children and adolescents. Healthy
People 2010 provides
background information on the initiative;
the complete text (online and searchable), Healthy
People 2010: Understanding and
improving health (2nd ed.) (2000); data
and statistics;
a list of the Healthy
People partners
and related sites; and other Healthy
People publications.
It is coordinated by the Office
of Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion (ODPHP).
Also see the HP2010
Information Access Project for
access to published literature
related to the Healthy
People 2010 objectives
about physical activity and children
and adolescents.
- National
Center on Physical Activity and
Disability (NCPAD).
Contains resources about physical
activity for people with special
health care needs. Resources include
an e-newsletter;
guidelines to consider before starting
any kind of exercise program; and
fact sheets on many popular activities,
games, recreational pursuits, and
sports that have been adapted to
allow people with disabilities
to participate as fully as they
wish. NCPAD is part of the Department
of Disability and Human Development
at the University of Illinois at
Chicago. Recent publications include
Achieving
a beneficial fitness for persons
with developmental disabilities.
(2004).
Health
promotion: Can disability, chronic
conditions, health and wellness
coexist?, rev. ed.
(2005).
- National
Coalition for Promoting Physical
Activity (NCPPA).
Contains reports, legislative information, e-newsletters,
and other resources aimed at inspiring
and empowering all Americans to
lead more physically active lifestyles.
NCPPA's federal advisory panel
includes CDC's Division
of Nutrition and Physical Activity
(DNPA) and
the President's
Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports (PCPFS).
- National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI).
Offers physical activity resources
for families and professionals.
NHLBI supports several programs
aimed at increasing physical activity
levels that include JumpSTART, Hearts
N' Parks,
and We
Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's
Activity and Nutrition).
- National
Strength and Conditioning Association
(NSCA).
Offers position statements, journal
article abstracts, and other resources
about strength and conditioning
to improve athletic performance
and fitness. Topics include anabolic
steroid abuse.
- President's
Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports (PCPFS).
Contains resources for coaches,
teachers, health and fitness professionals,
and families about physical fitness.
Includes access to the President's
Challenge,
an interactive online resource
to help all Americans build a regular
physical activity routine. Publications
include
PCPFS
research digests.
This quarterly series offers
a summary of recent research
on specific physical activity
topics, including Physical
activity for children: Current
patterns and guidelines.
(2004)..
- Special
Olympics International (SOI).
Contains program and event information
for SOI's year-round sports training
and competitions for children,
adolescents, and adults with mental
retardation and other developmental
disabilities. Contains information
about becoming a volunteer coach
and guides for coaches in individual
sports. Also includes resources
aimed at involving children and
adolescents with and without mental
retardation in Special Olympics.
SOI is an international organization
dedicated to empowering individuals
with intellectual disabilities
to become physically fit, productive,
and respected members of society
through sports training and competition.
- Steps
to a HealthierUS Initiative.
Contains program, conference, and
grant information as well as reports,
fact sheets, and data for this
national initiative by the Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to
improve the lives of Americans
through innovative and effective
community-based chronic disease-prevention
and disease-control programs, of
which physical activity is an important
component. Resources include Small
Step and Smallstep
KIDS!
- Weight-control
Information Network (WIN).
Offers publications for
families and health professionals
about physical activity and its
importance for weight control and
healthy living. Includes brochures
and program information about its Sisters
Together: Move More, Eat Better initiative.
WIN is part of the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Additional Electronic
Publications
- American
Council for Fitness and Nutrition
(ACFN).
2006. Successful
grassroots health and wellness programs:
Exploring common traits.
Washington, DC: American Council
for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN).
This report examines commonalties
among high-quality community programs
that promote health and wellness.
The following common traits are discussed:
cultural relevance, making programs
fun for children, strong government
focus, having a champion for the
health and wellness cause, programs
for all ages, and programs targeting
the workplace.
- Babey SH, Diamant AL,
Brown R, Hastert T. 2005. California
adolescents increasingly inactive.
Los Angeles, CA: UCLA
Center for Health Policy Research.
This report provides information on
the physical activity status of California
adolescents. The report discusses the
percentages of California adolescents
who get regular, some, and no physical
activity; the physical activity status
of girls, Latinos, Asians, and African
Americans; the lack of safe parks and
open spaces; and the importance of
physical education.
- Bright Futures for
Women's Health and Wellness Initiative.
2005. Healthy
women build healthy communities toolkit:
For physical activity and healthy eating.
Rockville, MD: Bright Futures for Women's
Health and Wellness Initiative. This
tool kit is geared toward women who
want to improve the health of their
communities by helping people become
more physically active and eat healthier
foods. Materials include checklists,
sample letters, timelines, fliers,
posters, news releases, and public
service announcements, as well as many
tips and suggestions for planning a
successful program.
- Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
2006. Promoting
health through physical activity,
rev. ed. Washington,
DC: Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS). This fact sheet
describes the problem of physical
inactivity in the United States and
federal efforts to improve physical
activity levels.
- Government
Accountability Office (GAO).
2005. Childhood
obesity: Most experts identified
physical activity and the use of
best practices as key to successful
programs.
Washington, DC: Government Accountability
Office. This report provides information
on program strategies and elements
most likely to contribute to success
in addressing childhood obesity and
how those strategies and elements
have been implemented. Experts identified
increasing physical activity as the
most important program strategy.
- Government
Accountability Office (GAO).
2006. Childhood
obesity: Factors affecting physical
activity.
Washington, DC: Government Accountability
Office. This briefing presents findings
from a literature review to identify
factors affecting rates of physical
activity for children and adolescents.
The factors presented in the articles
are discussed in three groups: (1)
demographic factors, (2) cognitive
and behavioral factors, and (3) community
factors.
- Heroux
J. 2005. Lessons
learned: Promoting physical activity
at the community level.
Princeton, NJ: Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
This report examines 25 projects funded
by RWJF to promote walking, biking,
and other activities and offers 12
lessons learned
- Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
2006. Overweight
and physical activity among children:
A portrait of states and the nation
2005.
Rockville, MD: Maternal and Child
Health Bureau. This chartbook presents
national and state-level data on
the prevalence of overweight in children
and adolescents (ages 10-17) within
the context of family structure,
poverty level, parental health and
habits, and community surroundings.
Data topics include the percentage
of children and adolescents who exercised
or participated in physical activity
for 20 minutes or more per day during
the past week, the percentage of
children and adolescents who were
on a sports team or took sports lessons
during the past 12 months, and the
percentage of children and adolescents
who have parents who exercise regularly.
- Office
of the Surgeon General.
2001. Surgeon
General's call to action to prevent
and decrease overweight and obesity.
Rockville, MD: Office of the Surgeon
General. This report discusses the
prevalence of overweight among all
age groups in the United States,
the threat overweight poses to health,
and actions that individuals at all
levels of government and in the private
sector can take to address the problem
in their communities. Physical-activity-related
recommendations include requiring
physical education at all school
grades and providing safe and accessible
recreation facilities.
- Patrick
K, Spear B, Holt K, Sofka D, eds. 2001. Bright
Futures in practice: Physical activity.
Arlington, VA: National
Center for Education in Maternal and
Child Health (NCEMCH).
This book presents physical activity
guidelines and tools emphasizing health
promotion, disease prevention, and
early recognition of physical activity
issues and concerns related to infants,
children, and adolescents.
- University
of Missouri Extension.
2006. MyActivity
pyramid.
Columbia, MO: University of Missouri
Extension. This sheet is designed
to show children (ages 6 to 11 years)
how to include physical activities
into their daily lives. The colorful,
cartoon-like drawings and multiple
activity levels depict the kinds
and amounts of activity needed each
week. This publication is adapted
from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's MyPyramid
Food Guidance System.
- Walke JN, Del Rosso
JM, Held AK. 2005. Nutrition
and physical activity field assessment
of children in rural America.
Westport, CT: Save
the Children.
This assessment of nutrition and physical
activity status of children in rural
areas consists of in-depth interviews
and focus groups with 45 partner communities
in several states with rural populations.

Databases
The databases listed below
are excellent tools for identifying data,
additional literature
and research,
and programs addressing
physical activity. Many of the entries
below contain tips on how to use the
databases efficiently. Please note that
databases vary in how terms should be
entered; for example, some require quotation
marks and others don't. Enter search
phrases as shown in bold below.
- Data
- CDC's
Data and Surveillance: An Explanation
of U.S. Physical Activity Surveys.
Describes and compares several
different national surveys that
track physical activity in many
age groups and at several levels
for the United States national
public health objectives. Also
provides background information
about physical activity assessment.
The following surveys are examined: Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System
(BRFSS), National
Health Interview Survey (NHIS), National
Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES), Youth
Risk Behavior Survey (YRBSS), National
Household Travel Survey (NHTS),
and School
Health Policies and Programs Study
(SHPPS).
- Child
Trends DataBank.
Reports on national trends and
research on over 80 key indicators
of infant, child, and adolescent
well-being, including physical
activity levels and participation
in school athletics. Child Trends
is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research
organization providing research
and data to inform decision-making
that affects families.
- Data2010:
The Healthy People 2010 Database.
Contains the most recent monitoring
data for tracking Healthy
People 2010.
To obtain physical activity data,
click on the field, Data by Focus
Area. Under the field, Select a
Focus Area, choose 22-Physical
Activity and Fitness from the pop-up
menu. Click on the Submit button
or use the other fields to narrow
your search. This data set is provided
by the National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) via CDC
Wonder.
- KIDS
COUNT.
Contains information about this
national and state-by-state effort
to track the status of children
in the United States. See the data
profile, Children
and teens not exercising regularly,
which ranks by state the share
of children and adolescents ages
6 to 17 who engaged in less than
5 days of vigorous physical activity
in the past week. KIDS COUNT is
a project of the Annie
E. Casey Foundation (AECF).
- Title
V Information System (TVIS).
Contains data from annual Title
V Block Grant applications and
reports submitted by all 59 U.S.
states and jurisdictions. To learn
about states' efforts to address
physical activity in children and
adolescents, conduct two searches.
Select Measurement and Indicator
Data and go to the State Data section.
First, select State Priority Needs
Keyword Search and choose Keyword:
Nutrition/Physical Activity and
Population: Children (1 through
21). Click on Start Search. Next,
select State Performance Measures
and click on Search by Keyword/Population.
Select Keyword: Nutrition/Physical
Activity and Population: Children
(1 through 21). Click on Start
Search. TVIS is a service of the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Also see MCHB's Overweight
and physical activity among children:
A portrait of states and the nation
2005 (2006).
- Literature
and Research Databases
- AGRICOLA
(AGRICultural OnLine Access).
Contains bibliographic information
for agricultural literature including
many child and adolescent nutrition
publications from the Department
of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition
Service; state child nutrition
agencies; Nutrition Education and
Training Program products; Team
Nutrition grantees; cooperative
extension program materials; and
materials from associations, universities,
and the private sector. AGRICOLA
is organized into two data sets
(books and journal articles). To
identify books and/or articles
on the topic, click on Keyword
Search. Enter the terms, children
adolescents and select
"any of these" and "Subject"
in the two fields to the right. Click "And".
In the next row, enter fitness exercise and
select ""any of these" and "Subject" in
the two fields to the right. Click
on "Set Limits" to narrow your search
(e.g., add a publication date limit).
Use the thesaurus to
identify terms for related searches.
AGRICOLA is a service of the National
Agricultural Library (NAL).
- HP2010
Information Access Project: Physical
Fitness.
Provides an automatic search mechanism
for published literature indexed
in PubMed related
to the Healthy
People 2010 physical
fitness objectives. Also links
to the narrative for each objective
and the complete chapter about
physical activity and fitness in
the text, Healthy
People 2010: Understanding and
improving health, 2nd ed. (2000).
This service is provided by the Partners
in Information Access for the Public
Health Workforce,
a collaboration of federal agencies,
public health organizations, and
health sciences libraries.
- Maternal
and Child Health Library at
the National
Center for Education in Maternal
and Child Health (NCEMCH),
Georgetown University. Maintains
several databases to collect, manage,
and disseminate knowledge about
maternal and child health (MCH),
with special emphasis on knowledge
gained from initiatives and programs
supported by the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
The library's bibliographic database
is
MCHLine®.
Comprises an online catalog of
materials in the Maternal and
Child Health Library. To identify
items about physical activity,
conduct three searches in the
keyword field of the database
search form using
the terms "physical activity", "physical
education", and "physical
fitness". To narrow your searches,
enter a single publication year
or range of years, and/or add
keywords (e.g., assessment, schools).
There will be overlap in the records
identified in these searches.
Also see the MCH
Organizations Database.
- National
Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC).
Contains evidence-based clinical
practice guidelines and related
materials for health professionals.
Identify guidelines by selecting
Detailed Search in the Search box.
Enter "physical activity" in
the Keyword field. Scroll down
on the search form to select Age
of Target Population and Publication
Date. The database is an initiative
of the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ).
- PubMed.
Contains over 17 million citations
for biomedical articles that date back
to the 1950s. These citations are from
MEDLINE and additional life sciences
journals. PubMed includes links to
many sites providing full-text articles
and other related resources. To identify
citations on the topic, enter the search
phrase exercise OR physical fitness
OR physical education and training.
Then, click on Limits and make the
following selections on the page: select
a date (e.g. Published in the last
2 years); click on Humans; click on
Languages: English; click on Ages:
All Child; and select Tag Terms: MeSH
Major Topic. To narrow your search
further or for additional searches,
use MeSH to
identify terms. PubMed is a service
of the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
Also see the HP2010
Information Access Project for
access to published literature related
to the Healthy
People 2010 objectives
about physical activity and children
and adolescents.
- Also see Action
for Healthy Kids,
the Educational
Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Database,
and the School
Health Resource Database.
- Programs
Databases
- MCH
Organizations Database.
Lists over 2,000 government, professional,
and voluntary organizations involved
in MCH activities, primarily at
a national level. Find organizations
focusing on physical activity by
conducting three searches in the
database using the terms "physical
activity", "physical education",
and "physical fitness" in
the keyword field of the database
search form.
There will be overlap in the records
identified in these searches. This
database is presented by the Maternal
and Child Health Library.
- Shaping
America's Youth (SAY) Program Registry.
Includes information on intervention
programs throughout the United
States that are working to improve
physical activity and/or nutrition
in children and adolescents. Search
by program name, keyword, organization,
state, and category (e.g., programs
addressing physical activity).
SAY is a national joint public-
and private-sector initiative to
identify and centralize efforts
currently under way across the
United States to reverse the rapidly
increasing prevalence of overweight
and inactivity among children and
adolescents.
- State-Based
Physical Activity Program Directory.
Provides information about physical
activity programs involving state
departments of health. Search by
state, setting, program components,
or keyword. This database is a
resource of the Division
of Nutrition and Physical Activity
(DNPA) at
the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
- State
Legislative Information.
Contains summaries of state legislative
bills related to nutrition and
physical activity from 2001 to
the present. Links are provided
to each state legislature site
where the full-text version of
the bill is available. This database
is a collaborative effort between
the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC),
the National
Conference of State Legislatures
(NCSL),
and the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
- Also see Action
for Healthy Kids.

Electronic
Newsletters and Online Discussion Groups
- NCPAD-News.
This monthly electronic newsletter
reports on the activities of the National
Center on Physical Activity and Disability
(NCPAD) and
other organizations offering new publications,
research, and conferences about physical
activity for people with special health
care needs.
- National
Association for Sport and Physical
Education (NASPE).
Offers NASPE-Talk,
an electronic discussion group
for professionals in physical education,
sport, and physical activity. Also
offers NASPE-Forum,
a moderated electronic discussion
forum for in-depth discussions
on topics of interest to physical
education, sport, and physical
activity professionals.
- National
Coalition for Promoting Physical
Activity (NCPPA).
NCPPA publishes two newsletters.
The NCPPA
E-Newsletter is
published twice each month and
contains information on NCPPA activities
along with news about research,
reports, funding opportunities,
and upcoming events on physical
activity and related issues. NCPPA's
public affairs newsletter, the Activity
Advocate,
is published once a month and covers
federal and state legislative activity
concerning physical activity and
related issues.
- Also see CDC's
Livability Listserv and
the University of South Carolina's
Prevention Resource Center's electronic
communication services.

Special Topics
Physical
Activity Information for Families
- 4
Girls Health: Fitness.
Contains information for girls
ages 10 to 16 about the benefits
of physical activity and offers
tools for developing an exercise
plan. 4
Girls Health is
part of the National
Women's Health Information Center.
- Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
Supports several initiatives and
offers many resources for families
about improving physical activity,
including
BAM!
Body and Mind: Physical Activity.
Offers an interactive site for
children and adolescents to
motivate them to be more physically
active. Includes a physical
activity plan, activity cards
that explain how to play a wide
range of sports and participate
in a variety of activities,
and articles about overcoming
physical challenges.
Powerful
Bones. Powerful Girls.
Offers parents information about
helping their daughters make healthy
choices that build and maintain
strong bones, such as participating
in physical
activity.
Includes a companion Web
site for
girls.
VERB:
It's What You Do.
Contains program information and
campaign materials for VERB, a
multicultural media campaign aimed
at increasing physical activity
and healthy behaviors among children
and adolescents ages 9 to 13, called
tweens. Includes Web sites for
tweens and parents in English and
Spanish, and formative research
reports.
Also see CDC's Tobacco
Information and Prevention Source
(TIPS).
- Eat
Smart. Play Hard.
Contains background information
and promotion materials for this
national campaign to promote healthy
eating and encourage physical activity
in children and their families.
The campaign is administered by
the Food
and Nutrition Service (FNS) of
the Department
of Agriculture (USDA).
- FIT
WIC.
Offers background information and
reports about this initiative and
an online
gallery of educational materials developed
as a result. View Active
Play for
a wealth of physical activity resources
for families with infants and young
children. FIT WIC was funded by
the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- Kidnetic.com.
Offers games, online activities, and
communication opportunities about healthy
eating and active living for children
ages 9 to 12 and their families. Also
provides facts for parents about children
and nutrition, physical activity, and
self-esteem. Kidnetic.com is an educational
outreach program of the International
Food Information Council (IFIC).
- MedlinePlus:
Exercise for children.
Contains a selective list of authoritative
health information sources for
consumers and health professionals
about physical activity in children
and adolescents. Includes links
to Web sites, articles, statistics,
and other resources on the topic.
MedlinePlus is provided by the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
- MyPyramid
Tracker.
Offers an online dietary and physical
activity assessment tool that provides
information on an individual's
diet quality and physical activity
status, related nutrition messages,
and links to nutrient and physical
activity information. MyPyramid
for Kids is
designed for children ages 6 to
11 and features posters, tips for
parents, classroom materials, and
an interactive computer game where
kids can reach Planet Power by
fueling their rocket with food
and physical activity. MyPyramid
is a service of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- Shape
Up America! Tips for Family Fitness
Fun. Presents
a set of ideas for parents to use
to help children and adolescents
become more active and live a healthier
lifestyle. Shape Up America! is
a national initiative to promote
healthy weight and increased physical
activity, and it involves a broad-based
coalition of industry, health,
nutrition, physical fitness, and
related organizations and experts.
- Small
Step.
Provides information in English
and Spanish about nutrition and
physical activity that aims to
help people make health improvements
through incremental change in various
habits. Includes an activity tracker
for users to keep track of physical
activities and goals. A companion
Web site, Smallstep
KIDS!,
offers games and activities to
help children make wise food choices
and increase physical activity.
This initiative is presented by
the Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
A recent publication is
Help
your child grow up healthy and
strong.
(2006).
- We
Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's
Activity and Nutrition).
Offers tips, activity ideas, and
other resources for parents and
caregivers of children ages 8-13
to help them achieve and maintain
a healthy weight by focusing on
improved food choices, increased
physical activity, and reduced
screen time. We Can! is an initiative
of the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI).
- Also see the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP),
the American
College of Sports Medicine (ACSM),
the American
Council on Exercise (ACE), Disabled
Sports USA, FitSource, Girls
on the Run (GOTR), Healthy
America, Media-Smart
Youth,
the National
Center on Physical Activity and Disability
(NCPAD), PE
Central,
the President's
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
(PCPFS), Special
Olympics International (SOI),
the Weight-Control
Information Network (WIN),
and the ERIC
Database.
- Additional Electronic
Resources
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