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The Great Outdoors: 6 Health Benefits for Kids

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Charles Noe on Jun 16, 2011 at 11:32AM

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The Great Outdoors: 6 Health Benefits for Kids

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Greener = Slimmer

As the days grow warmer and the kids have more free time, make sure you take an important step to protect their health—send them out to play.

Encouraging children to play outdoors may increase their physical activity levels and decrease their risk of being overweight. Rates of childhood and adult obesity and related conditions, including diabetes and heart disease, have grown at astonishing rates in recent years, partly because of reduced outdoor activity time. And research shows that greener neighborhoods mean slimmer and healthier children.

Reviewed by: Timothy Yarboro, M.D

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