Eat. Play. Love.

Written by Lauren Gerity
Part of National Nutrition Month 2013

Picture by Lauren Gerity

In an effort to decrease obesity rates in young children as well as adults the American Heart Association and the NFL have teamed up to implement the Play 60 Challenge.  In today’s society one in three children are overweight due to poor eating habits and lack of exercise. It is suggested in order to decrease theses numbers and live a heart healthy life children as well as adults should be getting at least 60 min of physical exercise a day.  This will help in reversing the trends in childhood and adult obesity. Although watching our food intake is crucial, exercise and dieting go hand in hand. Without one or the other it becomes hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A great way to monitor your obesity levels is through your body mass index or BMI. There are certain set standards that allow us to determine if you are overweight or obese.

Tips to follow:

-          Exercise 60 min a day

-          Play sports, run, or walk outside
-     Visit a local community playground or park
-     Working out in a group can make the workout more enjoyable
-     Monitor your food intake through the MyPlate guidelines, which help with portion sizing and plate variety

An active lifestyle is healthy lifestyle so ask yourself:  Have I done my 60 minutes of exercise today?

References

American Heart Association.  (2013).  Play 60 challenge [Electronic image].  Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/General/NFL-Play-60-Challenge-Registration-Form_UCM_313060_Form.jsp

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