At KidStrong fitness center in Middletown, general manager Josh Jones encourages students to build strength and endurance—not only to boost physical health but also confidence, mental and emotional wellness, and leadership skills.
“You see some kids come in shy and it takes them a while to get into it,” he says. “You slowly build these kids up from someone who maybe doesn’t want to shake a coach’s hand…to a kid who helps lead the class and [is] shaking classmates’ hands.”
KidStrong, a nationwide science-based training program offering age-appropriate physical activities, has locations in Middletown and Pike Creek, plus an app for parents to guide at-home practice.
“We give [students] that brain, character, and physical development,” says Chris Dale, general manager at the Pike Creek facility. “It sets [kids] up to be successful at life.”
Matthew Stewart, M.D., a pediatrician at Nemours Children’s Health in Wilmington, agrees that an active childhood often leads to a healthier adolescence and adulthood. Beyond stronger muscles and better endurance, regular movement improves sleep, promotes better blood pressure control, helps maintain a healthy weight and blood-sugar levels, strengthens bones, and more.
“The mental health benefits from exercise are really profound,” Stewart says. “As kids go through early school years and move onto middle school and high school, the activity and exercise they get can promote excellent resilience to stressors and makes them overall happier [people].” This often means better organizational skills and academic performance too, he notes.
Regular physical activity also reduces the risk for chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and obesity—which affect nearly 20% of children and adolescents in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“We’re in the middle of a childhood obesity epidemic,” says Stewart, “which worsened during the COVID lockdown. … We’re playing a lot of catch-up, trying to help those kids who didn’t really have that opportunity to be active at a younger age.”
What the CDC defines as healthy physical activity for different age groups might be surprising to some parents. “I think there’s a big misperception in the community that when we talk about physical activity and exercise that it has to be this very vigorous, intense athletic exercise,” Stewart says. “We’re talking about getting up and moving your body—something that raises the heart rate just a little bit—to give you all the benefits of happy hormones that go to the brain, protective heart-health benefits, and protection against diabetes. It can be as simple as taking your dog for a walk.”
Related: 5 Habits to Reduce Muscle Loss, According to Delaware Experts
