Children Learn Fitness At Home, Bureau Says

NEW YORK — Family togetherness may be the greatest single motivating factor in a life of fitness, says the Reebok Aerobic Information Bureau.

It reports that Dr. Paul Dyment, chairman of the Sports Medicine Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, says:

“Fitness is something that can be learned from parents, like table manners and brushing your teeth.”

He believes that when the whole family does things together, such as walking, hiking or bicycling, the children take to fitness naturally.

“The child, starting as early as age five, should grow up with physical activity a natural part of his culture. It should become a habit.”