By Renata Cló | Cronkite News
Arizona’s schoolkids are doing better than their peers nationally when it comes to physical activity, according to a national report card.
But that’s nothing to brag about: The report card said kids nationwide are not even close to being active enough.
The 2018 U.S. Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth graded school-age children on nine different indicators, with kids nationwide earning no better than a C in any category and Ds in several. Arizona scored slightly better than the national average in six of the nine indicators, but experts say there’s still a long way to go.
“The biggest takeaway from this report is that there are unlimited opportunities to make improvements in our children’s physical activity and health and well-being,” said Stephanie Martinez, chief for the Office of Community Innovation at the Arizona Department of Health Services.
“While our scores are very close, sometimes better than the national scores, there still is a big room for improvement,” she said.
