Let’s Move Towards Active, Inclusive Schools

Written by NCHPAD

All people have the right to conditions and resources that ensure optimal health. Physical literacy can open the door to a lifetime of good health and, in youth with a disability, can encourage lifelong activity that will promote health and decrease the risk of chronic disease.  Obesity rates for children with disability are 38% higher than for children without disability.  This is coupled with physical activity rates that are 4.5 times lower for children and youth with disability compared to their peers without disability. Typically children and youth with a disability engage in very little school-based physical activity, less healthy after-school activity, and more sedentary recreations.  These patterns of inactivity in childhood can also translate into adulthood.  The time for change is now—it’s time to end the exclusion of children and adolescents with disability from physical activity and all associated areas.

Recently, Let’s Move! Active Schools – part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative – and Lakeshore FoundationNCHPAD announced a new partnership that will create more Active Schools environments and increase physical education and physical activity opportunities for ALL students across the country.  Specifically, Lakeshore Foundation-NCHPAD will support activities focused on inclusive physical education and physical activity environments. Lakeshore Foundation-NCHPAD joins 34 other leading health, education, and private sector organizations as part of the Let’s Move! Active Schools national collaborative. These partners work together through the collective impact framework to help schools create Active School environments that provide children with at least 60 minutes of physical activity before, during and after the school day.

This new commitment to inclusion by Let’s Move! Active Schools is an exciting next step to increasing physical activity opportunities for all children and youth.  Stay tuned for an Inclusive Physical Education and Physical Activity Video Contest coming soon on http://www.letsmoveschools.org/.

Official Press Release: http://www.letsmoveschools.org/latest-stories/2016/3/28/lets-move-active-schools-welcomes-five-new-partners

Spread the word! Share a sample tweet with your networks:

  • High-five for inclusion! @NCHPAD joins the @letsmove #ActiveSchools movement. Learn more in the BAYW blog. odphp.tumblr.com
  • #CommitToInclusion for active schools! @NCHPAD joins @letsmove #ActiveSchools Find out more in the BAYW blog. odphp.tumblr.com