…from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – NEW YORK) December 19, 2011 – Helping your family get and stay healthy isn’t always easy. It’s tough to get your family away from the television and computer screens and find places for you to get active together. The start of the new year is the perfect time to make a plan! Here are ten tips from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to help your family get active in 2012.
Walk the Walk: Eat dinner as a family, and then go for a walk together. If the weather isn’t cooperating take the family for a brisk walk around the nearest mall.
Game of the Week: Spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon visiting an indoor or outdoor pool, skating rink or basketball court at a local gym, school, or community center.
Break it Up: You don’t have to it all at once. Look for opportunities to get moderate and vigorous activity for 10 or 15 minutes several times throughout the day.
Form a Team: Sign up for a family fun run, fun walk or car wash.
Pre-Screening: Have your kids pick their favorite shows each week. Turn on the TV just for those shows, and then turn it off afterwards.
Sign Up: Buy a family membership at the neighborhood recreation center, YMCA or health club.
Ask for a Lesson: Sign the family up for dancing, gymnastics, martial arts, fencing or swimming lessons—anything that will get the family excited about staying active.
Tackle Chores: Do housework or yard work together.
Unglue Yourself: Your kids won’t like cutting back on screen time if they see you as the family couch potato. The best way to influence their behavior is to set a good example.
It’s a Family Affair. Talk about how EVERYONE in the family is going to work together to get healthier. Children should not be the only ones making changes.
About the Alliance for a Healthier Generation
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation works to address one of the nation’s leading public health threats – childhood obesity. The goal of the Alliance is to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015, and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices. Founded in 2005 by the American Heart Association and William J. Clinton Foundation, the Alliance works to positively affect the places that can make a difference to a child’s health: homes, schools, doctor’s offices and communities. For more information please visit: HealthierGeneration.org.
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