FITNESS FOR YOUR KIDS Schools do not make children exercise a lot, but parents can -- and should, with the shape kids are in.
By MARILYN WELLEMEYER

(FORTUNE Magazine) – The fitness boom has bypassed America's kids. Most are fatter, many weaker and slower than they used to be, according to government surveys over the past two years. While their parents work out in record numbers, half the nation's 26 million fifth- through 12th-graders probably do not get enough exercise to develop sound hearts and lungs. In 1972 Congress required U.S. schools receiving federal aid to offer girls the same athletic opportunities as boys, yet recent studies show that girls' fitness has declined even more than boys'. Why these troubling contradictions? Many health professionals blame the ways of modern living: riding instead of walking to school or play, sitting for hours before computer games or TV, and diets of high-fat fast foods. Physical educators point to cutbacks in gym classes as many schools have instituted no- frills programs to emphasize the three Rs. Half the nation's high school students get no physical education in 11th and 12th grades, and only two states, New Jersey and Illinois, require physical education in all 12 years. Unfit kids are ultimately parents' problems -- and not easy to solve. Parents who rush to get their children into competitive sports early may do more harm than good. Dr. Lyle J. Micheli, 46, an assistant clinical professor at the Harvard Medical School and chief of sports medicine at Children's Hospital in Boston, reports that youngsters are suffering an explosion of sports injuries -- stress fractures in the legs, Little League elbow, swimmer's shoulder -- rarely seen in children until recent years. He explains, ''Overall fitness is down, so that if children do an intensive athletic activity for an hour five times a week, it's a setup for injury.'' Dr. Micheli points out that in their extremities and spines, children have specialized growth cartilage more susceptible to damage than adult cartilage. And when adolescents experience growth spurts of their bones, muscles and tendons catch up more slowly and may become temporarily tight and inflexible. Without adequate conditioning exercises to stretch and strengthen ligaments and muscles, children are particularly vulnerable to injury. Zealous but unsophisticated coaches, some of them parent volunteers, may not realize that they cannot turn every kid into a superathlete, since a lot of sports skill is inherited. To avoid hurting young bodies and feelings, nonprofessionals can consult Coaching Young Athletes by Rainer Martens, professor of sports psychology at the University of Illinois (Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Publishers, $12). BEFORE PUTTING Johnny or Janey on a rugby team, concerned parents should first try to learn how their child's fitness compares with national norms and where he or she needs improvement. An estimated 18 million children (in a school population of 45 million) are tested for physical fitness annually. Testing can begin in kindergarten, but most schools start in the fifth grade. The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD), a nonprofit organization based in Reston, Virginia, has designed two widely given tests. In September and usually again in the spring, gym teachers give the Youth Fitness Test, with norms introduced in 1975. ''The President's test'' is what many children call it, because the best-performing students get the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. But the standards are so tough that only about 5% win. Some educators think the test discourages children, since 95% win no award. In addition, many educators and other specialists feel the Youth Fitness Test emphasizes athletic aptitude, since it measures mainly strength, endurance, and speed. For these reasons, AAHPERD developed the shorter Health Related Test in 1980. Less widely administered than the Youth Fitness Test, it replaces some of the athletic measures with gauges of flexibility and body fat, measured by a skin-fold test. Physical education teachers may make the test scores available to students and to parents on request. To get the most benefit from the tests, parents and teachers should consider the Fitnessgram, developed by Dr. Kenneth Cooper's Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas. It turns the results of either test into an individual fitness report card that shows each student how he or she ranks against other students nationwide, gives the student an exercise prescription for improvement, and records changes since the last test. With Campbell Soup Co. footing the bill, the computer software needed to turn out Fitnessgrams is available free to any school district from the Youth Fitness Institute for Aerobics Research, 12330 Preston Road, Dallas, Texas 75230. By last spring, about 1,700 school districts with 2.3 million students had sent in requests. Forms for printing the results cost 6 cents apiece. The tests suggest good news: In a sample of 16,000 students, scores in the 1985-86 academic year improved over the previous year. More important than any test is the exercise habit. Dr. Paul Dyment, 50, chief of pediatrics at the Maine Medical Center in Portland and chairman of the sports medicine committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, says: ''By the time a child is 5 the whole family should regularly be doing something together, say walking or biking, so that the child grows up with physical activity as part of its culture. Doing it early develops a habit, just like brushing your teeth.'' A good example: Mel Kornbluh, 40, a partner in Vineland Syrup Co. of Vineland, New Jersey, and wife Barbara, a professional pianist, have toured on their bikes with daughter Natalie since she was 2 and son Jed since he was even younger. At first the parents rode a tandem bike with the kids in a Bike Caboose trailer. Then they switched to two tandem bikes, each with a child in the aft seat. Tandems can be rigged with a raised seat and handlebars, and crankset behind the parent so small children can pedal according to their abilities. The popular infant and toddler gyms, such as Gymboree and the YMCA's You & Me Baby program, where parents or babysitters help little ones work out, may be a lot of fun but do not speed development of a baby's sophisticated motor skills, according to David Gallahue, professor of physical education and childhood motor development at Indiana University in Bloomington. He says they don't do any harm either. But swimming programs for children under 3, even under close supervision, find little favor with physicians. They say babies in diapers can spread infection in pools and can get convulsions from swallowing too much water. The notion of drown-proofing a child at a tender age is a myth: Having learned not to fear water, a very young child may charge into a pool and not be able to get out. Preschoolers can benefit from simple gymnastics under professional supervision and delight their parents in the bargain. At the Harris YMCA in Charlotte, North Carolina, fathers help their 3- to 5-year-olds jump off the pommel horse and make like monkeys on uneven parallel bars. Then all join in the Mousercize routine, following Mickey's recorded directions. John C. McCombs, 39, area manager for solid-state power devices at Allen Bradley Corp., and his 4-year-old daughter, Leslie, have enrolled in their third five- week session of the program, called Pops-n-Peanuts. ''Saturday mornings at the Y are what Leslie and I both look forward to most for the weekend,'' says McCombs, who joined the Y's adult fitness classes when he started accompanying his daughter. He has lost 35 pounds since July. Nearly 60 ski areas nationwide offer the Skiwee program of children's instruction, which teaches kids from 3 or 4 through 12. By age 8 most children can comfortably join their parents on the slopes. For further information, consult Ski magazine's regular Skiwee page or telephone national coordinator Mike McMenamy at 303-449-7961. FOR CHILDREN with serious weight problems, the 12-week Shapedown program for teenagers is offered at 400 hospitals and family medical centers nationwide. (For locations, write Balboa Publishing, 101 Larkspur Landing, Larkspur, California 94939). In the program, developed at the medical school of the University of California at San Francisco, parents must attend at least four counseling sessions apart from those their children attend, in order to understand and help reinforce changes. Linda Taylor, 35, a claims adjustor for United Pacific Insurance in Spokane, and her husband, Michael, a civil engineer, enrolled her reluctant son, Bill White, when he was 11 and 30 pounds overweight. Much of the program is based on taking responsibility for oneself and the psychology of self-esteem, which Bill did not grasp the first time around. He made little progress. But when he and his mother repeated the program, it took. Watching his diet, riding his bike, and working on the family farm, Bill has lost 18 pounds. Now 14, he is on the junior high school football team. Making kids more fit can be trying, since they can scarcely imagine that they might later pay gravely for a lack of conditioning today. Health educators overwhelmingly recommend a different way of motivating: Just show the kids that fit is fun. On Your Own Time.