The importance of physical activity for our children

The target audience of this Photovoice project are young children in our neighboring communities in Colorado, Greeley, Thornton, Loveland, and Denver.  Our mission is to show the various activities that children can take part in to maintain an active lifestyle and ways in which these activities can be offered to our youth.  Physical activity is important for children to maintain normal, healthy weights and maintain healthy, active brains.  Encouraging kids to stay fit and active in childhood will help ensure they will stay fit and continue to be active into adulthood, which in turn will decrease their likelihood of health related illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.  Although Colorado is one of the leanest states in the country, childhood obesity is still on the rise due to poor nutrition and lack of physical activity. 

In 2007/2008, Colorado's children, ages 2-14, had an obesity rate of 26.8%. This rate depicts children, ages 2 - 14, who have an 85% or greater BMI.  In 2007/2008, Larimer County (Loveland) , had an obesity rate of 17.2%; Weld County (Greeley) had an obesity rate of 29.8%; Adams County (Thornton) had a rate of obesity at 32.0%; and Denver County (Denver) had an obesity rate of 36.7%.  These rates are compared to the Healthy People 2010 objective of 15%. 

Overweight children miss about four times as much school as normal weight children.  It was reported that 35% of school-aged children watch an average of 5 or more hours of TV a day.  These alarming statistics are reason enough to find ways to decrease the rates of childhood obesity.  We need to work together in our communities and offer multiple ways to be active in our schools, environments, and at home.  Initiating healthy policies will create healthy environments and healthy behaviors which will produce healthy people such as our youth.

You will see how we have captured kids engaging in physical activity in four different community settings and how they differ and how they are similar.  Each of the four different environments strive to keep kids entertained in a safe, active setting with unique approaches.  You will also see the ways in which each of our team members have viewed and captured the different communities that we live in.



Action For Healthy Kids.  (2010).  Here are the facts.  Retrieved from Action for healthy kids: http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (2010).  Maternal and Child Health County Data Sets.  Retrieved from: http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/ps/mch/mchdatasets.html