New government guidelines want kids to move more, sit less and get active as young as age 3. The guidelines stress that all exercise, any amount and any type, helps health.
The advice is the first update since the government's physical activity guidelines came out 10 years ago. Since then, the list of benefits of exercise has grown. There's more evidence to suggest things that were of unknown value before, this means short, high-intensity workouts and taking the stairs instead of an elevator are good for you.
The biggest change: start young. Guidelines for activity used to begin at age 6. The new ones say preschoolers ages 3 through 5 should be encouraged to take part in active play throughout the day. The guidelines don't call for a certain amount but say a good target may be three hours of various levels. That's similar to guidelines in many other countries and is the usual amount of activity kids this age do.
From ages 6 through 17, at least one hour of moderate-to-vigorous activity throughout the day is recommended. Most of it should be aerobic, the kind that gets the heart rate up such as brisk walking, biking or running. At least three times a week, exercise should be vigorous and include muscle- and bone-strengthening activities like climbing on playground equipment or playing sports.
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