We know childhood and adolescence is a period when regular physical activity is critical for healthy growth and development, but today America's youth are less active than ever before.

This Friday, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) and the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, & Nutrition (PCFSN) will release the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth at the Partnership for a Healthier America Summit in Washington, D.C.

Friday, March 8, 2013 9:45 - 11:00 AM EST

Burnham Room | Grand Hyatt Hotel | Washington, DC

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAG) Midcourse Report comes five years after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the first-ever PAG in 2008, describing the types and amounts of physical activity Americans ages 6 years and older need for overall health.

The PAG Midcourse Report builds on the Guidelines by highlighting intervention strategies for increasing physical activity in youth ages 3 to 17 years, identified in the current literature using a review-of-reviews approach.

The report provides implementation and research recommendations for leaders within five key settings that provide opportunities for youth to be active for 60 minutes or more each day:

• School
• Preschool and childcare
• Community
• Family and home
• Primary health care

Download the PAG Midcourse Report and other materials at www.health.gov/PAGuidelines/Midcourse.

What are you doing in your home, school, organization or community to help kids be more active? We invite you to share your experiences and ideas.

Written by Suzanne Hurley, CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity

Many people are aware that too few U.S. high school students in grades 9-12 are getting enough physical activity. But do you know which groups of high school students are getting less physical activity than others?

The findings of a recent school-based study - the CDC 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (NYPANS) - provide the answers. The results can be found in a June issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), but here are some highlights:

More high school male students than female students met the Healthy People 2020 aerobic and muscle strengthening activity objective:

• 18.5% of male high school students
• 5.8% of female high school students

Additionally, more students met the aerobic and muscle strengthening activity objective during their early high school years.

• 15.0% of 9th graders
• 12.3% of 10th graders
• 10.7% of 11th graders
• 10.3% of 12th-graders

Nationwide, only 15.3% met the aerobic objective of the Healthy People 2020 Physical Activity objectives, 51% met the muscle-strengthening objective, and 12.2% met the objective for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.

Healthy People 2020 objectives measure recommended levels of youth physical activity and are based on the 2008 Physical Guidelines for Americans:

Youth aged 6 to 17 years need at least 1 hour of physical activity each day, and muscle strengthening activity at least 3 days a week.

To improve youth physical activity participation, efforts are needed among CDC, state and local public health agencies, schools, and other public health partners that promote physical activity.

Communities have an important role to play in supporting efforts to promote or create school-based quality physical education programs, and to create or enhance access to places for physical activity.

Listen to a Podcast on the importance of physical activity. Read more information on school guidelines and strategies.

How can you improve physical activity participation rates among all high school students?