Parents of Young Children Exercise Less Than Peers — Great American Fitness Adventure Can Help

PRLog (Press Release) - Apr. 26, 2011 - Parents of young kids aren’t getting enough exercise, with troubling implications for personal and family health. The good news: effective workplace health programs can promote higher levels of physical activity and encourage family fitness. According to a study (pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2010-3218v1) of 1520 young adults published in the latest issue of Pediatrics, mothers get 2.36 hours and fathers get 5.33 hours of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each week, but women and men without children get 3.19 and 6.89 hours. Great American Fitness Adventure (http://www.greatamericanfitnessadventure.com), a Health Enhancement Systems (http://www.hesonline.com) fitness program, offers a way to reverse the trend, boosting employee wellness and reducing out-of-control healthcare costs.

Great American Fitness Adventure is a 100-day program pairing physical activity with a colorful learning journey to breathtaking US destinations. For each day that participants record 30 minutes of exercise, they virtually visit natural wonders, learning fascinating facts while earning “park stickers” that celebrate their progress. For days when exercise is difficult to fit in, the program provides 28 “free passes” permitting participants to skip to the next leg of the journey. The campaign’s flexibility and educational elements make it an ideal choice for parents, who can use it to teach their children about US geography, nature, and the benefits of enjoying activities in the great outdoors.

Lead investigator of the Pediatrics paper, Erica M. Berge, PhD, emphasizes the importance of family fitness to lifelong health: “Instead of thinking of physical activity as something you have to do in the gym or on your own, think of it as a family thing where you can walk to the park together, play tag together.” Great American Fitness Adventure frees participants to make their own choices instead of dictating particular exercises, so parents can select physical activities that easily incorporate into day-to-day family living.

“Ideally, this study’s findings will inspire parents to model healthy habits for their children, and workplace wellness managers to support and encourage their efforts,” states Dean Witherspoon, CEO and founder of Health Enhancement Systems. “Great American Fitness Adventure (http://www.greatamericanfitnessadventure.com) not only helps promote employee fitness while reducing current healthcare costs — it inspires better health for the next generation of American workers.”

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Health Enhancement Systems creates employee wellness programs for organizations in North America and throughout the world. More than 20 effective, engaging HES wellness campaigns have been adopted by over a thousand organizations — serving hundreds of thousands of participants successfully.

For more information about Health Enhancement Systems, visit (www.HealthEnhancementSystems.com) or call 800.326.2317.