Let Kids Be Kids To Stay Healthy

It's summertime and that means more time for the kids to find something to do. But it seems... sometimes it's just a good idea to let them hang out.

By hanging out, I mean getting outside and doing what kids to best, just running amok. That will keep them in better shape than any program around.

To fight childhood obesity, a recent study is showing that what your kids need most is "unstructured" activity. And they've even narrowed it down to how much does them good. For those between the ages of 5 and 17, they need up to 90 minutes a day.

So, for many of us parents, that also means showing your child the door. That doesn't mean going to a friend's house for video games. In this study, children that were the most active also ended up with the healthier numbers for blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin. That's not a big surprise. What might be though is that this applied to all children, whether they were obese or thin as a rail.

And again, this didn't mean having them join a guy or hop on a treadmill. They simply need to do what they do best... play... run around like you did when you were a kid.

These researchers found out that physical activity for children doesn't need to be intense, like playing soccer or tennis, but instead just small bouts of activity, like running around with friends, can do the trick.

What this and other studies are showing is that it's the little things that count, and for the young ones that means just playing like kids tend to do anyway once you pry them away from the computer or TV.