Welcome to another edition of Trim Down Thursdays brought to you by myself and my online accountability partner Bri from Eco Baby Mama Drama! We are teaming up to help each other get in shape and hopefully share some tips with you all along the way. This week we are discussing How to Get the Entire Family involved in your fitness mission.
According to the CDC, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years! The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period. In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese!
- Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors.
- Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.
Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.
Growing up in the online and video game generation, many children these days do not get adequate (or any) exercise. By making exercise a family affair, you teach your children good exercise habits that they will hopefully carry with them throughout their lives.
There are so many different ways to make exercise a family affair. When the weather is nice and they days are long we love to take a walk either before or after dinner every night. Play a game of catch or throw a Frisbee to your dog. Your four legged family members need exercise too! When the weather isn’t nice enough to go outside have a dance party or, if you must play video games play Wii or Kinect games that get you moving and your heart rate up.
When I can I enjoy taking Monkey Girl with me to the gym. She has a blast running around playing with the medicine balls and cones, and has started copying what I do which makes it super fun.
What activities do you participate in with your whole family? How do you motivate everyone to exercise? I would love to hear your ideas! Please feel free to link up your healthy family ideas and fitness posts!
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