HHS HealthBeat (July 15, 2011)

Active teens? Not hardly

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Being an active teen is, for many teens, a contradiction in terms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says national survey data indicate this. The CDC’s MinKyoung Song:

``Currently, only 1 in 10 high school students are getting enough physical activity. Unfortunately, this has not changed over the last 10 years.’’ (9 seconds)

Teens, like other young people, should be active at least an hour a day, every day. It’s not just for fun, although it’s fun to get out and play an hour a day. Physical activity does for teens what it does for everyone else – it makes them stronger and more fit, with better muscles and bones and less body fat.

An article on teen exercise is in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: July 14, 2011