GET THEM OUT OF THERE (6/18/09)

***REASONS TO KEEP YOUR KIDS OFF THE COUCH THIS SUMMER***

The days when kids spent all summer playing outside are long gone. Now there are 400 TV channels to watch . . . the Internet . . . and Playstation. Exercise has fallen to the wayside, but here are seven reasons to keep your kids OFF the couch this summer . . .

#1.) EXERCISE HELPS PREVENT CHILDHOOD OBESITY. The obesity rate for young children has DOUBLED in the last few decades, and the rate in adolescents has more than TRIPLED, from 5 percent in 1980 to 18 percent in 2006.

#2.) IT REDUCES THE RISK OF HEART DISEASE. A 2008 study showed that kids who ARE obese tend to have arteries that look like the average 45-year-old's. And as a result, kids will likely end up dealing with heart disease at a MUCH earlier age.

#3.) IT IMPROVES TEST SCORES. The California Department of Education found that kids who are in shape generally score TWICE as high on academic tests as kids who are overweight.

#4.) IT HELPS KIDS GET A BETTER NIGHT'S SLEEP. In 2006, researches divided 100 INACTIVE kids into three groups. Some had to exercise 40 minutes a day, some had to exercise 20 minutes a day, and some didn't have to exercise at all.

-The results were published in "Obesity" magazine, and, as you might expect, the kids who exercised MORE got a better night's sleep because of it.

(--More importantly . . . there's a magazine called "Obesity": http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1467-7881.)

#5.) EXERCISE IMPROVES SELF-ESTEEM. According to a study released in March, 20 to 40 minutes of exercise a day can drastically increase the self-esteem of an overweight child . . . even if that child doesn't lose any weight because of it. (The Complete Sheet)