Modern life has made things much more comfortable for us – so comfortable, in fact, that most of us spend too long sitting down doing nothing much at all!

Of course it’s important to relax, but there’s a difference between chilling out and vegging out. The fact is that kids who are inactive don’t burn off enough energy and store up fat in their body.

The solution is simple – get up! Simply being up, about and moving burns calories and helps fend off diseases like diabetes, heart disease or cancer.

Something as obvious as getting your kids up off the sofa will help. Encourage them to turn off the TV or computer game and do something more active.

Many families are setting a limit of ‘2 hours max’ of screen time each day. It stops kids vegging out and helps them get their 60 active minutes everyday.

For more information on how to get your kids up & about, read our leaflet, visit change4life on the web or call 0300 1234567.

 

 

Healthy kids get up & about, they don’t veg out.

Here are some suggestions on how to make yours an up & about house.

 

1. ‘2 hours max’

3. After school

• Parents tend to over-estimate how much energy kids use at school. Remember, they’re actually sitting down most of the time. The best way for them to relax after school is for them to be up and active rather than to veg out.

4. Get up after eating

• Don’t let them flop after meals. Just being up and about burns off excess calories so get up and about instead.

5. Family time