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Your family is much more likely to become fit and healthy when they are having fun. If you can find activities that you all enjoy then you’ll stay in shape without even noticing it.
And exercising as a group will encourage every family member to keep at it. Ben Brown, a fitness expert who works with both adults and children, said: “The best fitness activities are the really fun ones. No-one will thank you, whatever their age, if the exercise is repetitive or samey. So if you can find a range of enjoyable sports then the chances are you will all be keen to keep doing them.”
The Alarming Growth Of Overweight Brits
Today’s statistics on child and adult obesity are frightening. A report in respected medical journal, The Lancet, shows the number of children considered obese either doubled or trebled between the early 1970s and late 1990s in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Britain and the US.
In 2010, more than 40% of children in North American and eastern Mediterranean, 38% in Europe and 22% in southeast Asia are overweight or obese.
The rise is overweight children is blamed on two factors: more sedentary lifestyles and the consumption of more calorific foods.
Being overweight as a child can lead to a wide range of health problems in adulthood including high blood pressure, diabetes, fatty liver disease, cancer and depression.
How To Be A Fitter Family
The key to fitter children is to be part of a fitter family. The other important factor is that exercise needs to be fun and all-inclusive. Brown, who owns children’s holiday company Excel Sports Academy, suggests there are many activities that are both fun and healthy.
He said: “It’s a case of using your imagination. So you might get the whole family to do a Play Station Dance Mat challenge one evening. Or you could head to the swimming pool and do races using floats and inflatable balls.”
Another tip is to keep each activity short so that no-one gets bored. Or you could pin up a reward chart at home offering incentives for everyone to take part in exercise. Brown said: “You can count a game of football with pals, running to the shops on an errand and playing swing ball in the back garden.”
Great Ideas For Fun Family Fitness
Here we suggest some of the best fun-filled fitness activities for all the family, which should keep both kids and grown-ups fitter and healthier for life:
Climbing the wall: Head to your local indoor climbing centre. Different grades of indoor climbing walls offer a challenge for all ages and abilities. See who can climb the highest or the hardest wall.
Exercise benefits: Cardiovascular, plus muscle toning and strength.
Kids come too: A growing number of health centres have introduced child-friendly gyms with scaled-down equipment and kid-friendly technology. So while mum and dad work up a sweat in the grown-up gym, the kids can follow suit in their own mini gym.
Exercise benefits: All round cardio and strength fitness.
Good, old-fashioned fun: If you’re old enough to remember the craze for hula hoops and pogo sticks first time round, then you’ll have no problem picking up the technique again. Show the kids how good you are – but also let them have a go.
Exercise benefits: Spinning a hula hoop will improve core muscles and hips flexors. Pogo stick jumping is good cardio exercise and tones core and leg muscles.
Walk this way: Buy every member of the family a pedometer and see who can walk the most steps over one week. Suddenly you’ll find that everyone is keen to walk to school, work and the shops.
Exercise benefits: Walking is an excellent form of aerobic exercise and one of the most effective ways to burn calories.
On your bikes: Head to your nearest traffic-free cycle network and enjoy cycling in a safe environment. The promise of a picnic en-route will keep everyone happy.
Exercise benefits: Cycling burns a lot of calories and offers great leg muscle toning potential.
Hopping mad: Space Hoppers come in a multitude of colours, sizes and designs and provide one of the maddest activities for all the family. All you need is a garden and a big sense of humour.
Exercise benefits: Cardio, as well as leg and core muscle toning.
By FionaOutdoors
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