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.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Mid-Course Report is now available for public comment until December 10th.

The Physical Activity Guidelines Mid-Course Report: Strategies for Increasing Physical Activity Among Youth summarizes evidence-based intervention strategies for increasing physical activity in youth ages 3 to 17.

The report describes interventions for increasing activity in several key settings where youth live, play, and learn, including:

• Schools
• Preschool and Childcare Programs
  
• Communities
• Families and Homes
• Primary Care

We'd love your feedback! For more information on the PAG Mid-Course Report public comment period and to download the draft report, visit: http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/midcourse.

Obesity rates continue to rise across the United States. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently estimates that more than 35% of American adults are obese, and about 17% of children and adolescents are obese.

Numerous health risks are linked to obesity. They comprise some of the most common preventable causes of death, including coronary heart disease, type II diabetes mellitus, and strokes. In 2008, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billion. Efforts to decrease obesity among adults and children are crucial from a public health standpoint.

Current Physical Activity Guidelines recommend 150 minutes (or about 30 minutes, five times a week) of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week. Specifically for weight loss purposes, many experts recommend longer durations of exercise - up to 60 minutes per day.

Are these longer periods of exercise necessary for optimal weight loss? Does the extra time increase fat loss? Or is there a compensation effect whereby the body adjusts to the additional exercise?

In a paper published recently in the American Journal of Physiology, studied this question using samples of overweight, sedentary men. The authors compared a group which performed 30 minutes of daily aerobic exercise for 13 weeks to one which performed 60 minutes per day.

The authors compared the groups based on body fat loss, as well negative accumulated energy balance, which they calculated from the changes in body composition.

Participants who performed 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per day experienced the same amount of body fat loss compared to those who performed 60 minutes per day. Surprisingly, the overweight men who exercised 30 minutes per day had a much greater than predicted negative energy balance. There was no additional benefit obtained by doing 60 minutes of exercise per day.

The authors concluded that while one group of overweight men performed twice the amount of daily aerobic exercise, the decrease in body weight and body fat was no greater than the group that performed half as much.

This study provides good news to overweight individuals who want to start an exercise regimen to lose weight and body fat. Since many of these people do not regularly exercise, starting with 30 minutes per day might be more appealing. They might be more likely to stick to the shorter programs.

When it comes to obesity and weight loss, any exercise seems better than none at all. While we need much more research to find ideal nutritional changes and specific exercise recommendations, Americans of all ages can at least start with moderate amounts of exercise each day.

What do you think about this study and its findings? Will it make you more likely to try to perform physical activity each day?