Young people who engage in healthy activities get better grades and feel better about themselves.
Schools can play a critical role in helping establish these healthy behaviors that lead to academic - and lifelong - success.
Due to academic demands, schools have shortened gym and recess time, leaving students to sit for longer periods of time.
So are children getting enough movement in their day?
Dr. David Johnson explains why getting enough activity is vital to helping your child excel in school.
Selected Podcast
Is Your Child Getting Enough Activity During The School Day?
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about David Johnson, MD
David Johnson, MD,- Family Medicine
David Johnson, MD is a family medicine doctor at Allina Health Plymouth Clinic. He has professional interests in caring for children from infancy to adolescence. Johnson is father of three who enjoys staying active outdoors camping and tandem biking on his “bicycle built for two.”Learn more about David Johnson, MD
Transcription:
Is Your Child Getting Enough Activity During The School Day?
Melanie Cole (Host): Due to academic demands, schools have shortened gym and recess time leaving students to sit for longer periods of time. Are children getting enough movement in their day and how can we all, as a community, be involved and get our children up and moving? My guest today is Dr. David Johnson. He’s a Family Medicine Physician at Allina Health Plymouth Clinic. Welcome to the show, Dr. Johnson. Let’s start with what are the recommended activity levels for children, adolescent and teens, and what does activity mean for this group?
Dr. David Johnson (Guest): Hey, Melanie. Nice to be on the show. The current recommendations for kids between the ages of 6-17 is to get at least an hour of aerobic activity every single day. That’s what we’re looking for. As far as what constitutes activity it really is pretty broad ranging. We know that, of course, most kids don’t get the activity that they need and so really anything that we could increase is going to be a positive for many of our kids. However, what we want is for the kids to be doing some sort of moderate intensity activity, so running around, playing basketball, swimming, things like that, at least three days of the week with lower forms of activity, the other times of the week would be acceptable. If we can get them to do moderate activity or even higher, that would, of course, be great.
Melanie: So, speak about the correlation, Dr. Johnson, between activity – physical activity--and academics and what they’re doing at school; why it’s so important that they get that blood flow going for their brains to work.
Dr. Johnson: You bet. This is a very important point. A lot of parents don’t know and a lot of the students don’t know that if kids are physically active, they seem to have better concentration. They’re more attentive to the task. It’s not, of course, the perfect treatment for things like ADD, but we know that it does help as far as being able to really pay attention and to actually score better. We know that the kids that are physically active do tend to have higher grades and part of this may be due to the fact that they also have better self-esteem when they’re working out and that may improve the school performance as well.
Melanie: With our children, they’re learning and as adults at work we get up from our desks, we walk around but kids aren’t really allowed to do that if they’re sitting in a class. How important is it that they get up and move a little bit every hour?
Dr. Johnson: Yes, of course. Running between classes doesn’t give us a whole lot of activity but there’s a little bit and, of course, with gym classes being cut, of course, that’s another concern as well. Things can be limited during the school day. Certainly getting out for recess, doing something active outside seems to be very critical. So, for schools where this is a recess, playing around on the play sets, running around with friends is one way to do it. Of course, it’s a little bit tougher, of course, as we get into the older ages. Then, often times gym class can, of course, be fantastic but encouraging activities outside of school is also very important as well.
Melanie: How do you think that those grades correlate to inactivity or an increased amount of activity and as parents what do you want us to do to get our children active on the other times when they are outside school?
Dr. Johnson: This is critical. In fact, I believe I’m correct in saying that one of the closest correlations between children’s weight is the activity level of their parents. It’s not so much of what the diet is like in the home but how active the parents are. So, I’m always encouraging parents to lead the way and show that activity is a fun things to do and something that should be regularly rolled into our daily activities. Also, of course, making sure that the kids have plenty of things to play with. Do they have bikes and helmets that are in working order? Do they have balls that they can go outside and play with? Are activities encouraged around getting kids in the neighborhood to maybe have a pickup game of basketball? So, really making it easy for kids to do it is critical. The other thing is really trying to make activity a fun thing to do. So, instead of saying, “Okay. Let’s do our 30 minutes of calisthenics as a family before we can do anything else,” and “This is a requirement,” of course, obviously, is a great way to turn off kids. If they can see that the parents are really liking to do this – going for mountain bike rides and things like that--of course, obviously that will encourage them to do more.
Melanie: Back in the day, children had recess, they would run around, they’d play kick ball and they’d swing and they’d do all these things. Now, Dr. Johnson, if you go by some school playgrounds you see a lot of kids sitting in groups on their phones during recess when they should be running around. Can we get involved in our schools and make sure that they do run around just like in the olden days and get that activity?
Dr. Johnson: Yes, of course. It’s tough. What are you going to do as a parent? Are you going to run over to the school and say, “Get off your butt”? It’s kind of hard to do that.
Melanie: Yes.
Dr. Johnson: I think that we are very fortunate here in Minnesota that we have a strong interest in making our education system the best it can possibly be and so, at least the schools that I’ve been involved with, the administration, the teachers are very interested in hearing input. If we see that sort of thing happening, I think that raising it up with the administration can be a very useful thing to do. Now, it’s kind of interesting. Everybody’s going to apps these days and sitting on their butt and playing with them, although there are a couple of good apps that parents might find helpful to show their kids and that actually may help them get moving a little bit. One that I like a lot is called Iron Kids that was developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and, specifically, it’s trying to address this whole thing. It talks about primarily an exercise thing, not so much on the diet but it does encourage different like lower body, upper body work. There’s another app that’s for kids of roughly the 6-8 year old range called Fitness Kids that I like quite a bit too. Finally, Smash Your Food is an interesting diet app that is, of course, designed for kids and that also can be very helpful, too. If they’re just sitting and watching these things, it’s not going to help too much, if you know what I mean.
Melanie: And you are lucky in Minnesota. You did rank #2 on the American College of Sports Medicine/American Fitness Index, which says a lot about that state and what your state is willing to put forward for physical activity. What do you want parents to do to get involved with the school because in favor of academics even gym classes are being cut? So, Dr. Johnson what would you like the schools to know and parents to know from a physician’s point of view?
Dr. Johnson: I think that schools are attentive and responsive to what the parents are interested in. Now, of course, there are national requirements but I firmly believe that if parents go to their principal and say, “I really have a concern that we’re not getting enough physical activity for our kids or that it’s being pushed down the priority list in favor of other things” I think that they’ll be responsive to that. Of course, there’s an awful lot of pressures and a lot of things that they have to juggle but I think they will give higher priority to a topic like this if the parents will push the point.
Melanie: And while we do have to keep up with the academics of other countries it is so important that we give the children a chance to run around and get that blood flow. Now, again, as a parent, you mentioned being a role model. What would you like families to do together in the fall and in the winter to be active as a family because that’s really the best way to get everybody together?
Dr. Johnson: You bet it is. Of course, in the fall when the weather is nice and cool and we’re not sweating too much to be outside, one thing that we like to do is mountain biking or road biking. That’s a way to get the family involved. They can go maybe to dinner and make a little bit of an incentive for the kids to bike out to dinner and back. We have now quite a few sets of snowshoes in our family and that’s a wonderful activity in the winter. I always tell patients that move to Minnesota from other states that if they don’t get outside in the winter, they’re really going to start to dislike the state. Snowshoes, cross country skiing, going for walks in the woods, making snowmen and all that, is really critical just to survive the winter, much less being physically active. Those are all wonderful family activities.
Melanie: I love the winter myself. In just the last minute, what’s your best advice about getting children active during the school day and all year round?
Dr. Johnson: I would say that for the school day, again, they have their requirements of what they need to be doing during the actual school time period. Getting outside is really the critical thing. So, for recess getting outside but, of course, the school day, the Monday through Friday week, also includes time after school, too. Getting outside really is the key. Studies have shown if kids are just outside they will be much more likely to get these requirements than if they’re inside watching TV or even trying to active things inside the house. So, get outside.
Melanie: That is great advice. Thank you so much, Dr. Johnson. You’re listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information you can go to allinahealth.org. That’s allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Is Your Child Getting Enough Activity During The School Day?
Melanie Cole (Host): Due to academic demands, schools have shortened gym and recess time leaving students to sit for longer periods of time. Are children getting enough movement in their day and how can we all, as a community, be involved and get our children up and moving? My guest today is Dr. David Johnson. He’s a Family Medicine Physician at Allina Health Plymouth Clinic. Welcome to the show, Dr. Johnson. Let’s start with what are the recommended activity levels for children, adolescent and teens, and what does activity mean for this group?
Dr. David Johnson (Guest): Hey, Melanie. Nice to be on the show. The current recommendations for kids between the ages of 6-17 is to get at least an hour of aerobic activity every single day. That’s what we’re looking for. As far as what constitutes activity it really is pretty broad ranging. We know that, of course, most kids don’t get the activity that they need and so really anything that we could increase is going to be a positive for many of our kids. However, what we want is for the kids to be doing some sort of moderate intensity activity, so running around, playing basketball, swimming, things like that, at least three days of the week with lower forms of activity, the other times of the week would be acceptable. If we can get them to do moderate activity or even higher, that would, of course, be great.
Melanie: So, speak about the correlation, Dr. Johnson, between activity – physical activity--and academics and what they’re doing at school; why it’s so important that they get that blood flow going for their brains to work.
Dr. Johnson: You bet. This is a very important point. A lot of parents don’t know and a lot of the students don’t know that if kids are physically active, they seem to have better concentration. They’re more attentive to the task. It’s not, of course, the perfect treatment for things like ADD, but we know that it does help as far as being able to really pay attention and to actually score better. We know that the kids that are physically active do tend to have higher grades and part of this may be due to the fact that they also have better self-esteem when they’re working out and that may improve the school performance as well.
Melanie: With our children, they’re learning and as adults at work we get up from our desks, we walk around but kids aren’t really allowed to do that if they’re sitting in a class. How important is it that they get up and move a little bit every hour?
Dr. Johnson: Yes, of course. Running between classes doesn’t give us a whole lot of activity but there’s a little bit and, of course, with gym classes being cut, of course, that’s another concern as well. Things can be limited during the school day. Certainly getting out for recess, doing something active outside seems to be very critical. So, for schools where this is a recess, playing around on the play sets, running around with friends is one way to do it. Of course, it’s a little bit tougher, of course, as we get into the older ages. Then, often times gym class can, of course, be fantastic but encouraging activities outside of school is also very important as well.
Melanie: How do you think that those grades correlate to inactivity or an increased amount of activity and as parents what do you want us to do to get our children active on the other times when they are outside school?
Dr. Johnson: This is critical. In fact, I believe I’m correct in saying that one of the closest correlations between children’s weight is the activity level of their parents. It’s not so much of what the diet is like in the home but how active the parents are. So, I’m always encouraging parents to lead the way and show that activity is a fun things to do and something that should be regularly rolled into our daily activities. Also, of course, making sure that the kids have plenty of things to play with. Do they have bikes and helmets that are in working order? Do they have balls that they can go outside and play with? Are activities encouraged around getting kids in the neighborhood to maybe have a pickup game of basketball? So, really making it easy for kids to do it is critical. The other thing is really trying to make activity a fun thing to do. So, instead of saying, “Okay. Let’s do our 30 minutes of calisthenics as a family before we can do anything else,” and “This is a requirement,” of course, obviously, is a great way to turn off kids. If they can see that the parents are really liking to do this – going for mountain bike rides and things like that--of course, obviously that will encourage them to do more.
Melanie: Back in the day, children had recess, they would run around, they’d play kick ball and they’d swing and they’d do all these things. Now, Dr. Johnson, if you go by some school playgrounds you see a lot of kids sitting in groups on their phones during recess when they should be running around. Can we get involved in our schools and make sure that they do run around just like in the olden days and get that activity?
Dr. Johnson: Yes, of course. It’s tough. What are you going to do as a parent? Are you going to run over to the school and say, “Get off your butt”? It’s kind of hard to do that.
Melanie: Yes.
Dr. Johnson: I think that we are very fortunate here in Minnesota that we have a strong interest in making our education system the best it can possibly be and so, at least the schools that I’ve been involved with, the administration, the teachers are very interested in hearing input. If we see that sort of thing happening, I think that raising it up with the administration can be a very useful thing to do. Now, it’s kind of interesting. Everybody’s going to apps these days and sitting on their butt and playing with them, although there are a couple of good apps that parents might find helpful to show their kids and that actually may help them get moving a little bit. One that I like a lot is called Iron Kids that was developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and, specifically, it’s trying to address this whole thing. It talks about primarily an exercise thing, not so much on the diet but it does encourage different like lower body, upper body work. There’s another app that’s for kids of roughly the 6-8 year old range called Fitness Kids that I like quite a bit too. Finally, Smash Your Food is an interesting diet app that is, of course, designed for kids and that also can be very helpful, too. If they’re just sitting and watching these things, it’s not going to help too much, if you know what I mean.
Melanie: And you are lucky in Minnesota. You did rank #2 on the American College of Sports Medicine/American Fitness Index, which says a lot about that state and what your state is willing to put forward for physical activity. What do you want parents to do to get involved with the school because in favor of academics even gym classes are being cut? So, Dr. Johnson what would you like the schools to know and parents to know from a physician’s point of view?
Dr. Johnson: I think that schools are attentive and responsive to what the parents are interested in. Now, of course, there are national requirements but I firmly believe that if parents go to their principal and say, “I really have a concern that we’re not getting enough physical activity for our kids or that it’s being pushed down the priority list in favor of other things” I think that they’ll be responsive to that. Of course, there’s an awful lot of pressures and a lot of things that they have to juggle but I think they will give higher priority to a topic like this if the parents will push the point.
Melanie: And while we do have to keep up with the academics of other countries it is so important that we give the children a chance to run around and get that blood flow. Now, again, as a parent, you mentioned being a role model. What would you like families to do together in the fall and in the winter to be active as a family because that’s really the best way to get everybody together?
Dr. Johnson: You bet it is. Of course, in the fall when the weather is nice and cool and we’re not sweating too much to be outside, one thing that we like to do is mountain biking or road biking. That’s a way to get the family involved. They can go maybe to dinner and make a little bit of an incentive for the kids to bike out to dinner and back. We have now quite a few sets of snowshoes in our family and that’s a wonderful activity in the winter. I always tell patients that move to Minnesota from other states that if they don’t get outside in the winter, they’re really going to start to dislike the state. Snowshoes, cross country skiing, going for walks in the woods, making snowmen and all that, is really critical just to survive the winter, much less being physically active. Those are all wonderful family activities.
Melanie: I love the winter myself. In just the last minute, what’s your best advice about getting children active during the school day and all year round?
Dr. Johnson: I would say that for the school day, again, they have their requirements of what they need to be doing during the actual school time period. Getting outside is really the critical thing. So, for recess getting outside but, of course, the school day, the Monday through Friday week, also includes time after school, too. Getting outside really is the key. Studies have shown if kids are just outside they will be much more likely to get these requirements than if they’re inside watching TV or even trying to active things inside the house. So, get outside.
Melanie: That is great advice. Thank you so much, Dr. Johnson. You’re listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information you can go to allinahealth.org. That’s allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.