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Adolescents and Young
Adults
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KEY MESSAGES
 | Adolescents and young
adults, both male and female, benefit from physical activity. |
 | Physical activity need not
be strenuous to be beneficial. |
 | Moderate amounts of daily
physical activity are recommended for people of all ages. This amount can be
obtained in longer sessions of moderately intense activities, such as brisk
walking for 30 minutes, or in shorter sessions of more intense activities,
such as jogging or playing basketball for 15-20 minutes. |
 | Greater amounts of
physical activity are even more beneficial, up to a point. Excessive amounts
of physical activity can lead to injuries, menstrual abnormalities, and bone
weakening. |
FACTS
 | Nearly half of American
youths aged 12-21 years are not vigorously active on a regular basis.
|
 | About 14 percent of young
people report no recent physical activity. Inactivity is more common among
females (14%) than males (7%) and among black females (21%) than white females
(12%). |
 | Participation in all types
of physical activity declines strikingly as age or grade in school increases.
|
 | Only 19 percent of all
high school students are physically active for 20 minutes or more, five days a
week, in physical education classes. |
 | Daily enrollment in
physical education classes dropped from 42 percent to 25 percent among high
school students between 1991 and 1995. |
 | Well designed school-based
interventions directed at increasing physical activity in physical education
classes have been shown to be effective. |
 | Social support from family
and friends has been consistently and positively related to regular physical
activity. |
BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY
 | Helps build and maintain
healthy bones, muscles, and joints. |
 | Helps control weight,
build lean muscle, and reduce fat. |
 | Prevents or delays the
development of high blood pressure and helps reduce blood pressure in some
adolescents with hypertension. |
WHAT COMMUNITIES CAN DO
 | Provide quality,
preferably daily, K-12 physical education classes and hire physical education
specialists to teach them. |
 | Create opportunities for
physical activities that are enjoyable, that promote adolescents' and young
adults' confidence in their ability to be physically active, and that involve
friends, peers, and parents. |
 | Provide appropriate
physically active role models for youths. |
 | Provide access to school
buildings and community facilities that enable safe participation in physical
activity. |
 | Provide a range of
extracurricular programs in schools and community recreation centers to meet
the needs and interests of specific adolescent and young adult populations,
such as racial and ethnic minority groups, females, persons with disabilities,
and low-income groups. |
 | Encourage health care
providers to talk routinely to adolescents and young adults about the
importance of incorporating physical activity into their lives. |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
- Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, MS K-46
4770 Buford Highway, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724
1-888-CDC-4NRG or 1-888-232-4674 (Toll Free)
http://www.cdc.gov
The President's
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
Box SG
Suite 250
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
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