Teaching Elementary School Health Education/Personal Health and Physical Activity/Regular Physical Activity

  • Physical Activity is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure.
  • Regular Physical Activity is physical activity that is performed on most days of the week.

Health Benefits

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  • People who are usually inactive can improve their health and well-being by becoming even moderately active on a regular basis.
  • Physical activity need not be strenuous to achieve health benefits.
  • Greater health benefits can be achieved by increasing the amount of physical activity.

Guidelines for Youth

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  • Children should accumulate at least sixty minutes and up to several hours of age-appropriate physical activity on all, or most days of the week.
  • Children should participate in several bouts of physical activity lasting fifteen minutes or more each day.
  • Children should participate each day in a variety of age-appropriate physical activities designed to achieve optimal health, wellness, fitness, and performance benefits.
  • Extended periods of inactivity (more than two hours) are discouraged especially during the daytime.