I keep thinking about two articles I recently read about teens and fitness. Did you know that 90% of 9-year-olds get a couple hours of exercise most days, but by the time kids are 15, only 3% get that kind of exercise? See this post in Junkfood Science for a different perspective on the study.
Here's some good news: membership in health clubs is increasing among kids ages 6-17. Between 2000 and 2006 membership went up by 28%.
Just in time, a Silicon Valley fitness center just for teens called Overtime Fitness opened in 2006. (Now it's open to adults as well.) Many of the fitness activities center around games.
Fitness professionals are targeting teens for a number of reasons: teens represent a new market with spending power, there is a perception that they do not exercise enough, and their exercise needs to be specially tailored for their growing bodies. The new fitness programs can be fun and social, as this Syracuse teen will tell you.
Naturally, there is a plethora of online resources for these tech natives to get started exercising.
Kids Health has a section on fitness for teens (aged 13-18).
Teen Health FX covers fitness as well as other health topics.
Spark Teens offers age-appropriate information and resources about health, nutrition, fitness and weight management as well as an online community. I'm hoping the weight management component focuses more on healthy eating habits and less on just being skinny. Do you get nervous, too, when you see the word "diet" used on a website for teens?
Of course, at some point you do have to walk away from the computer and actually start moving your body...
(Image via Teen Health FX)
by day I write some fitness and a lot of teen/tween so I adore this post....it's sad but at least we're inching toward changing things.
Posted by: MizFit | August 03, 2008 at 06:13 AM