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The Most Trusted Name In Learning ®

Source Text 2

The Value of

Exercise to

Seniors

Source Text 1 Fitness Facts

Source Text 3 The Right Kinds of Exercise for Seniors

Source TextsProject: Exercise for Seniors Pamphlets

Graphs give you so much information in a small space. You can learn a lot from them. What can you learn about fitness from these graphs?

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SOURCE TEXT 1

Fitness Factsby Raymond Coutu

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ActivitySource: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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SportSource: Scholastic Inc.

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Number of Days a Week Kids Get Exercise

Kids’ Favorite Sports to Play

How Americans Spend Their Free Time Each Day

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Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Why we exercise changes with age. You might jog to improve your soccer game. Your parents might swim to stop themselves from gaining weight. What about seniors? Why might they exercise? Research shows there are lots of good reasons.

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SOURCE TEXT 2

The Value of Exercise to Seniors

Exercise Helps Seniors’ Bodies

Exercise is good for seniors’ bodies. It tones their muscles, strengthens their bones, and reduces their risk of heart disease. It can also help seniors keep weight off and stay steady on their feet.

Exercise Helps Seniors’ Minds

Exercise is good for seniors’ minds, too. It can keep them active and alert. It can help them think, remember, and sleep. And it can make them feel good and happy about life.

Most important for everyone, exercise helps us live longer and lead healthier lives!

by Mary Kay Carson

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Exercise Adds Years of Life

75 150 300 400Minutes of Moderate Exercise per Week

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Source: PLOS Medicine (The Public Library of Science)

Four Types of Fitness for Seniors

Type of Fitness Benefits seniors by helping them:

Can be improved by:

1. BALANCE walk and stand without falling.

• standing on one foot

• walking from heel to toe

• tai chi

2. ENDURANCE be more energetic.

• walking• dancing• swimming• aerobics

3. FLEXIBILITY move without stiffness or pain.

• stretching• yoga

4. STRENGTH keep muscles strong.

• elastic band exercises

• arm curls with weights

• wall push-ups• sit-ups

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SOURCE TEXT 3

The Right Kinds of Exercise for Seniors

Your fitness needs aren’t the same as your parents’ or grandparents’ needs. As we get older, our bodies weaken. The right kinds of exercise can help seniors remain strong and active.

by Mary Kay Carson

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The Most Trusted Name In Learning©

www.scholastic.com

aerobics: lively, dance-like exercises that strengthen the heart.

balance: one’s ability to keep steady and not fall.

disease: a specific illness.endurance: one’s ability to put up with physical activity over time.

exercise: physical activity that one does to keep fit and healthy. fitness: a quality of one’s physical health.

flexibility: one’s ability to bend and stretch.

graph: a kind of picture that shows data or numerical information about something.muscle: a part of the body that produces movement.

strength: the quality of being forceful or powerful with the body.

tai chi: exercises that help people balance and relax.yoga: exercises that help people control their minds and bodies, and become fit.

GlossaryPlease note: These definitions represent one meaning of each word— the meaning that best fits how the word is used in the text.

Photo credits: p. 1: Junial Enterprises/Shutterstock, Inc.; p. 2: Fertnig/iStockphoto; p. 3: girl, Thinkstock; balls, Quang Ho/Shutterstock, Inc.; p. 4: luckyraccoon/Shutterstock, Inc.; p. 5: Andrey Popov/Shutterstock, Inc.; p. 6: Rob Marmion/Shutterstock, Inc.

Fact checked by Jeff Schlict, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Health Promotion and Exercise Science, Western Connecticut State University.

ISBN: 0-545-68334-3

The Most Trusted Name In Learning ®

The Most Trusted Name In Learning ®

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