Why physical activity is important

A healthy lifestyle is not just about watching our diets. And just as you don’t have to be a chef to prepare delicious, nutritious food you do not have to be a sports champion to keep active.

The key is to make physical activity a part of our family’s everyday lives, rather than being something separate that we try to squeeze in from time to time. There are many simple and enjoyable ways of incorporating physical activity into the day, whether or not you and your children are ‘sporty’.

• Rather than drive your children to school, cycle or walk briskly (you’ll be pushing up your own daily step count too)
• When you have housework or gardening to do, rather than let the children amuse themselves watching the television or playing computer games, get them involved too. Ask them what part they would most like to help with, so they don’t see it as a chore, but something they have been allowed to help you with
• Encourage your kids to try different activities and sports. Sometimes they need a little persuasion to try something new and find out what they enjoy
• The government recommendation for children is that they should be active for a minimum of 60 minutes every day. This should be at least moderate-intensity physical activity, which gets the heart working a bit faster, like swimming, brisk walking and dancing
• To improve bone health, muscle strength and flexibility these should include weight-bearing activities at least twice a week, like running, skipping and gymnastics

To help encourage children to keep active, they need to:

1. Find activities they enjoy doing
2. Understand why they should keep active – it helps keep our bodies healthy and in good working order

To find out more fun ways your child can learn about being healthy, visit our Great Grub Club children’s website.

Try some of our ideas for building more activity into your life.