Kids and exercise Kids and Exercise With obesity on the rise among American kids, opportunities for exercise are decreasing. We know that exercise is important for good health. And we've seen numerous reports about the growing epidemic of obesity among American children.
Habits formed in childhood can have a lifelong health impact.
Yet in spite of all this news, physical education is on the decline in American schools. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education conducted a recent survey that found fewer than half of American children receive some form of physical education in school every day. At least 5 percent of children get no physical education at all. Meanwhile, most parents say they'd like their children to have physical education in school. Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas say if children aren't getting physical activity at school, they need to be more active at home.