By James Lowell Healthy Lion reporters | Most of Ms. Martin’s fourth-grade reporters work up a sweat when they are at home. 

The Healthy Lion surveyed 20 reporters and found that the majority spent time after school or on weekends moving. Their activities include walking, running, and playing soccer and basketball. 

“I enjoy moving because it helps me focus and makes me feel good,” one student said.

Health experts say that children should be active at least 60 minutes a day. There are two types of physical activity that count toward the 60-minute goal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a government agency that seeks to help everyone be healthy: 

• Moderate exercise is when “you’re working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat.” 
• Vigorous exercise is when “you’re breathing hard and fast, and your heart rate has gone up quite a bit.”

When listing their favorite activities to do at home, 18 reporters said their activity was moderate or vigorous. Two said they liked to read or draw. Those are sedentary activities, which means a person doesn’t work up a sweat. 

About half the reporters said their activity is moderate and the other half said it was vigorous. After doing their research and reflecting on their own activities, many reporters said they wanted to increase the amount of time they spent on their activity. They said they enjoyed moving around.

Illustration by a James Lowell E.S. reporter.