Kids Walk Across Arkansas
Overview
Kids Walk Across Arkansas is a healthy and fun program brought to you by the
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.
Its Purpose is to promote active lifestyles in a fun and challenging way.
Kids Walk Across Arkansas is designed to improve the health of all Arkansas
children by increasing the amounts of physical activity they participate in each
week.
The Need for Kids Walk Across Arkansas. Since the early 1970s the rate of
overweight or obese children between the ages of 6 - 19 has quadrupled from 4%
to 16%. Type II diabetes, typically acquired in adulthood, now appears in
children as young as 10 years old. Children today are at a much higher risk of
developing other chronic conditions, such as heart disease, than previous
generations. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 60 minutes of
moderate or vigorous physical activity most days of the week will greatly reduce
children’s risk of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. Children who
are regularly active at these levels have higher self-esteem, reduced stress,
are less likely to smoke or do drugs, and have significantly higher academic
achievement than those who are inactive. The elementary-age years are a critical
time in the development of people’s lifelong physical activity habits.
Unfortunately, by elementary school as many as 1 in 3 children are not
participating in the appropriate amount or type of physical activity. A typical
child spends 4 hours a day watching television, playing video games, or using a
computer. Regular physical education classes are becoming shorter in duration
and less frequent, and many schools have eliminated recess. All of these factors
have created an environment that is not supportive or accommodating for children
to participate in regular physical activity.
The Goal of Kids Walk Across Arkansas is to provide a supportive and fun
environment to help children to engage in 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous
intensity physical activity on 5 or more days every week.
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