Improve Childhood Fitness
The American Heart Association has launched a federal government program that is prepared for school goers to promote physical fitness. The AHA called the new Physical Education for Progress (PEP) program "an immediate step to develop the overall health and fitness of the children of American youth considering the development of Immunity and vivacity of the individual in order to build a more powerful nation around the world.
The PEP program establishes grants to help schools start, expand, and improve physical education (PE) programs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. They can use the funds to buy equipment, hire or train PE staff, and support other programs to help students participate in PE activities.
The new guidelines emphasizing PE come at a time when government data show that 10% of children are overweight or obese and 1 in 5 children is at risk of being overweight. The number of overweight children has doubled over the past 15 years, and 70% of overweight children will be overweight and obese adults. In order to keep each child physically fit , the program is designed for the students of kindergarten upto 12th standard. Most of the increase has taken place in recent years; only 5.8% were overweight in the early 1970's. Studies show that this trend is associated more with low levels of physical activity than with increased food consumption.
