Kids who enjoy sports and exercise tend to stay active throughout their lives. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines by WHO recommend that teens get at least one hour of physical activity on most, and preferably all days of the week.

Regular physical activity can help prevent heart disease, diabetes, and other medical problems down the road. But don't underestimate the immediate benefits of an active lifestyle: maintaining a healthy weight, feeling more energetic, and promoting a better outlook.

Fitness in the Teen Years

Physical activity tends to decline during the teen years. Many teens are dropping out of organized sports and participation in daily physical education classes is becoming a thing of the past.

But given the opportunity and interest, teens can pick up on almost any activity that they enjoy, from competitive to noncompetitive sports from exercise classes to playing with friends. Skateboarding, yoga, swimming, dancing, or kicking a football all qualify as great fitness activities. Weight training, under supervision of a qualified adult, can improve strength and help prevent sports injuries. The possibilities to get physically fit are endless.

Teens can also incorporate activity into everyday routines, such as walking to school, doing chores, or finding an active part-time job. Even younger teens can enjoy opportunities to take on new responsibilities and be in charge, so jobs as junior camp counselors, baby sitters, or assistant coaches for young sports teams can serve that need while also providing kids with a chance to be active.

Ten Arguments for Exercising

Teens are great at coming up with reasons not to exercise, so be ready to give them incentives to get fit. Here are 10 pro-exercise arguments to present to your teen:

1. Running and walking are convenient. All you have to do is walk out the door and put one foot in front of the other. No need for pools, courts, or fields.
2. Running doesn't cost much. Splurge on good running shoes, but go the el-cheapo route for shorts, t-shirts, and sweats.
3. Your heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood and oxygen through your body every time you exercise aerobically. You'll think more clearly. You'll also raise HDL levels (high density lipoprotein) in your arteries to protect you from heart attacks and strokes when you get really old -- like in your 40s and 50s!
4. It's an awesome time to chat with friends. (And talking slows your pace, so you'll exercise longer.)
5. It's a perfect time to be alone and think. You'll be blown away by the creative thoughts -- ideas for research papers, ways to end that fight with your best friend, and what to say to that cute kid in the neighborhood.
6. The benefits of cross-training extend to all sports you do. Aerobic exercise conditions your body to perform longer, faster, and more efficiently. Wait until your coach sees you play soccer or baseball!
7. The more exercise you do, the more energy you'll have for hours afterwards. Your body will kick into overdrive after a few weeks of conditioning and you will feel more energized than you ever have before.
8. It makes you feel great physically. The progress is truly dramatic! Every time you work out, your muscles develop strength and power. Your lungs hold mega amounts of oxygen. You'll find that you're staring at yourself in full-length mirrors because you look AWESOME! Forget about dieting: Your metabolism will burn extra fat for hours afterwards.
9. It makes you feel good mentally. Not everyone has the discipline and ability to set a goal and reach it with slow, steady and hard work.
10. Aerobic exercise, especially running, can help make feelings of depression and frustrations disappear. After 20 or more minutes of continuous slow running, your body releases powerful hormones (called endorphins) that start pumping through your bloodstream, producing a strong "runner's high" that does wonders for your self-esteem.

10 Perks of Physical Activity

Compared with participants whose main activities were watching TV and playing video games, those reporting five or more weekly physical activity sessions had 10 advantages:

• Less likely to have sex, including sex without birth control
• Less likely to smoke cigarettes
• Less likely to get drunk frequently or drive while drunk
• Less likely to use illegal drugs other than marijuana
• Less likely to be absent from school
• Less likely to not wear a seatbelt
• Less likely to have low self-esteem
• More likely to get 'A' grades in math and science
• More likely to sleep at least eight hours per night
• More likely to do housework and have summer jobs outside the home