Claim an Outside Lunch!

When asked what they did when they did not have enough time to buy and eat lunch, students reported buying à la carte snacks, eating from vending machines, bringing lunch from home, skipping lunch entirely, or buying lunch and throwing away a large portion. .

Fifty percent of the middle and high schools included in a study scheduled the first lunch period before 11:00 a.m., despite national recommendations that school lunches not begin before this hour.

Providing students with constructive activities at the end of lunch can allow for longer lunch periods without increasing behavioral problems.

http://www.ehhi.org/reports/obesity/summary.shtml

Being stuck inside all day without direct exposure from the sun, and without connecting to the energy.., can actually make a bad day even worse.

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/10-ways-to-turn-around-a-bad-day-in-10-minutes-or-less/

Regular physical activity in childhood and adolescence improves strength and endurance, helps build healthy bones and muscles, helps control weight, reduces anxiety and stress, increases self-esteem, and may improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels.1

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that young people aged 6–17 years participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily.2

In 2013, 27.1% of high school students surveyed had participated in at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity on all 7 days before the survey, and only 29% attended physical education class daily.

Benefits of Regular Physical Activity

•Helps build and maintain healthy bones and muscles.1

•Helps reduce the risk of developing obesity and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and colon cancer.1

•Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety and promotes psychological well-being.1

•May help improve students’ academic performance, including

◦Academic achievement and grades

◦Academic behavior, such as time on task

◦Factors that influence academic achievement, such as concentration and attentiveness in the classroom.

Long-Term Consequences of Physical Inactivity

•Overweight and obesity, which are influenced by physical inactivity and poor diet, can increase one’s risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis, and poor health status.

•Physical inactivity increases one’s risk for dying prematurely, dying of heart disease, and developing diabetes, colon cancer, and high blood pressure.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/physicalactivity/facts.htm