Exercise beginning in childhood helps prevent chronic illness later in life. Children's hearts, lungs, muscles, and bones cannot develop without being exercised. Compared to children who lead sedentary lives, active children tend to have bigger and stronger hearts, greater muscle mass, less fatty tissue and stronger bones. Research over the last 40 years clearly links heart-lung fitness with reduced rates of stroke and heart disease.

Benefits of exercise for children include: · increased size and number of blood vessels in the heart and muscles. This results in better blood circulation. · increased flexibility of blood vessels. This decreases the chances of a blood vessel breaking under pressure to cause bleeding or stroke. · increased pumping efficiency of the heart. · increased ability to manage stress. This reduces the negative effects of stress on the body. · decreased level of cholesterol and other blood fats. · decreased or normal blood pressure. This reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. · improved sense of well-being and self-esteem. · fewer injuries.
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Overweight children are at increased risk of many health problems, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes, growth hormone dysregulation, and respiratory and orthopedic problems. Self-esteem and socialization frequently suffer. And that is just the beginning.

Overweight children are far more likely to become overweight adults than are children who maintain normal weight during adolescence. Not only does obesity follow children into adulthood--40% of overweight children and 70% of overweight adolescents become obese adults--obesity in adolescence is independently associated with chronic diseases that develop in adulthood.
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