BodiMojo for Teens

This week is a great time to write a first blog post for BodiMojo.com given that the US Department of Health and Human Services just announced the new physical activity guidelines for Americans.  Of particular interest are the guidelines for children – who need more physical activity than adults – and are as follows: 

Children and Adolescents (aged 6–17)

Children and adolescents should do 1 hour (60 minutes) or more of physical activity every day.  Most of the 1 hour or more a day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.

As part of their daily physical activity, children and adolescents should do vigorous-intensity activity on at least 3 days per week. They also should do muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activity on at least 3 days per week.

Why do we at BodiMojo care?  Because next summer we’ll be launching a comprehensive website to motivate 13-18 years to be active, eat healthy and develop a positive sense of themselves and their body image.  It’s not about weight loss or dieting but about teens interacting with other teens about health.  We’ve got a challenge on our hands, because kids don’t think about their health in any serious way unless they are dealing with a specific health issue.  They are focused on school, friendships and fitting in. They care about their looks, their bodies and the latest trends and fashion. At the same time they are the most “wired” group of people and pretty savvy about technology and social networking.  They can do a lot to help teens see being healthy as cool, as a part of who they are, not some abstract worry about an ailment old people get.

The team at BodiMojo will use this blog to observe what is going on with the nation’s teens and tell you about the cool stuff happening.  We’ve invited teens to join in the development since they never miss a beat.

So stay tuned.

Contributed by Tara Cousineau, PhD

An Adolescent at Heart