o out to the swimming pool in the evening, but something comes up, substitute the swimming session with dancing to the kids’ favourite CDs before bedtime.

Try to become less dependent on your car or public transport and encourage the kids to do the same. This has the added benefit of being good for the environment as well. Most young people are aware of climate change and like to be involved in doing something w

If you have a job, kids and a house to run, chances are you haven’t got time for exercise. You know you need to increase your activity level if you’re going to shift the weight, but you can’t find the time in your busy schedule and when you do find yourself with a bit of time off, exercise is the last thing you want to do.

However, it is possible to make exercise fun and to incorporate it into your daily routine in a very positive way. To do this, make exercise something that you do with your kids. This will not only help your weight loss program, but will give you quality time with your children and help them to develop the habit of being more active. Kids these days spend a lot of time in front of computer or TV screens and run the risk of becoming overweight or even obese - and overweight kids and teenagers have an increased risk of becoming overweight or obese adults.

Focus on the fun aspect of exercise by finding something all of you can enjoy. This could mean kicking a ball around the park after school or on weekends, joining a martial arts class or doing some form of aerobic exercise to a DVD at home. There is a huge variety of different types of exercise available on DVD or video and it should be possible to find things that everyone can enjoy. Alternate the routines, say kickboxing once a week and pilates on another day, to allow for everyone’s taste and to prevent boredom creeping in. Try to come up with several alternatives and make sure you have outdoor and indoor activities on the list. The more ideas you can up with, the better, as this will give you more opportunities to fit things in to a busy day, for example, if you planned to go out to the swimming pool in the evening, but something comes up, substitute the swimming session with dancing to the kids’ favourite CDs before bedtime.

Try to become less dependent on your car or public transport and encourage the kids to do the same. This has the added benefit of being good for the environment as well. Most young people are aware of climate change and like to be involved in doing something wh

in a very positive way. To do this, make exercise something that you do with your kids. This will not only help your weight loss program, but will give you quality time with your children and help them to develop the habit of being more active. Kids these days spend a lot of time in front of computer or TV screens and run the risk of becoming overweight or even obese - and overweight kids and teenagers have an increased risk of becoming overweight or obese adults.

Focus on the fun aspect of exercise by finding something all of you can enjoy. This could mean kicking a ball around the park after school or on weekends, joining a martial arts class or doing some form of aerobic exercise to a DVD at home. There is a huge variety of different types of exercise available on DVD or video and it should be possible to find things that everyone can enjoy. Alternate the routines, say kickboxing once a week and pilates on another day, to allow for everyone’s taste and to prevent boredom creeping in. Try to come up with several alternatives and make sure you have outdoor and indoor activities on the list. The more ideas you can up with, the better, as this will give you more opportunities to fit things in to a busy day, for example, if you planned to go out to the swimming pool in the evening, but something comes up, substitute the swimming session with dancing to the kids’ favourite CDs before bedtime.

Try to become less dependent on your car or public transport and encourage the kids to do the same. This has the added benefit of being good for the environment as well. Most young people are aware of climate change and like to be involved in doing something w

ed risk of becoming overweight or obese adults.

Focus on the fun aspect of exercise by finding something all of you can enjoy. This could mean kicking a ball around the park after school or on weekends, joining a martial arts class or doing some form of aerobic exercise to a DVD at home. There is a huge variety of different types of exercise available on DVD or video and it should be possible to find things that everyone can enjoy. Alternate the routines, say kickboxing once a week and pilates on another day, to allow for everyone’s taste and to prevent boredom creeping in. Try to come up with several alternatives and make sure you have outdoor and indoor activities on the list. The more ideas you can up with, the better, as this will give you more opportunities to fit things in to a busy day, for example, if you planned to go out to the swimming pool in the evening, but something comes up, substitute the swimming session with dancing to the kids’ favourite CDs before bedtime.

Try to become less dependent on your car or public transport and encourage the kids to do the same. This has the added benefit of being good for the environment as well. Most young people are aware of climate change and like to be involved in doing something w

everyone can enjoy. Alternate the routines, say kickboxing once a week and pilates on another day, to allow for everyone’s taste and to prevent boredom creeping in. Try to come up with several alternatives and make sure you have outdoor and indoor activities on the list. The more ideas you can up with, the better, as this will give you more opportunities to fit things in to a busy day, for example, if you planned to go out to the swimming pool in the evening, but something comes up, substitute the swimming session with dancing to the kids’ favourite CDs before bedtime.

Try to become less dependent on your car or public transport and encourage the kids to do the same. This has the added benefit of being good for the environment as well. Most young people are aware of climate change and like to be involved in doing something w

o out to the swimming pool in the evening, but something comes up, substitute the swimming session with dancing to the kids’ favourite CDs before bedtime.

Try to become less dependent on your car or public transport and encourage the kids to do the same. This has the added benefit of being good for the environment as well. Most young people are aware of climate change and like to be involved in doing something which will help reduce it. The earlier you can teach your children how to adopt a healthy lifestyle the better. It’s much better to prevent obesity and the side effects than it is to deal with them once they have become serious problems. Think of the heartache you could prevent for your children, not only in terms of ill-health but also lack of self-esteem and bullying which is often directed at children who are overweight.

So, no more excuses, get your own exercise routine on track and create a better future for your kids at the same time.

Waller Jamison 2007