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A Report of the Surgeon General
Physical Activity and Health
Adolescents and Young Adults
Key Messages
- 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,
K12 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, GA 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
200 Independence Ave., S.W.
room 738-H
Washington, DC 20201
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services
Centers for Disease and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion
The President´s Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports
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