Kindergarten crop: federal agency encourages life-long fitness habits in pre-school children - Sixth Annual Youth Fitness Section

American Fitness, July-August, 1992 by Libby W. Schroeder

Federal agency encourages life-long fitness habits in pre-school children.

Youth exercise sessions at the Department of Labor's (DOL) Child Development Center are short compared to an average adult program. "We find that 15 minutes is an appropriate time period to get their cardiovascular systems pumping," notes DOL fitness director Steve Hayes. "Fitness for kids means stretching and bending. We don't want them to get sweaty and worn out, but we do want them to have fun."

For most children, it's the first time they have ever exercised with an adult. Many were shy about participating at first, but now they freely join the activities, according to Debra Smith, director of DOL's on-site Child Development Center. "The children all want to have strong muscles now,"she says. "If they run into their favorite instructors in the hallways they begin flexing their muscles."

Smith and Hayes work together to plan fitness sessions that complement other activities at the center. When the children are studying animals, for example, part of their fitness time is spent walking like elephants or hopping like kangaroos. Follow-up and integration of lessons make the weekly fitness classes an indispensable part of the center's total program.

"Television and video games are destroying children," says Hayes, father of five. "Nutrition is terrible, too. Children need education about fitness and nutrition at an early age so they can thrive physically and learn to feel good about themselves."

Facts from the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports indicate youth fitness is deteriorating in the United States. Sedentary life has created a new at-risk population-America's children. It is estimated 40% of all American youngsters between 5 and 8 already show at least one heart disease risk factor - obesity, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure or physical inactivity. One in five children is classified as obese. Since 1963, the prevalence of obesity has increased 54% among children ages 6 to 11. Related statistics show children between 2 and 5 years of age watch television an average of 25 hours a week.

Many physiologists report exercise plays a crucial role in growth and development. With studies showing how exercise retards heart disease, Hayes and his staff are introducing children to life-long benefits of exercise as a preferred alternative to a sedentary lifestyle in adulthood. In fact, children who exercise regularly are stronger, more flexible, have larger muscles and bones, remain thinner and have greater aerobic power than children who do not exercise regularly.

When kids exercise rather than sit still, their bodies work more efficiently overall, according to aerobic expert Kenneth Cooper, M.D. Hearts pump faster, circulating more than four times as much blood. The rate of breathing increases and lungs take in 20 times as much air. The immune system is strengthened in the process.

Buoyed by experiences in their own program, the DOL fitness and child care directors are working to extend the program to other federal agencies which have child care and fitness centers on-site. This expansion effort is headed by Dr. Daniel Lazorchick, a child care consultant based in Bethesda, Maryland. The Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports has endorsed the outreach initiative and is expected to play a pivotal role in its implementation. A similar endorsement has been given by the American Child Care Foundation in Reston, Virginia, which will participate in drafting a standard fitness curriculum and monitoring project operations.

Libby W. Schroeder & a freelance writer living in Arlington, Virginia.