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Maryville City Schools pushes students to hit federal exercise guidelines

The Department of Health and Human Service says nearly 80 percent of Americans don't exercise as much as they should.

Maryville — New guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service say Americans aren't active enough.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans fail to get enough exercise.

Children from six to 17 years old need at least an hour a day, and adults need two and half hours a day.

Whether students are future NBA stars or just trying to stay active, Maryville High School coach Suzanne Singleton said everyone should strive to move more.

"We have to really accommodate high-level athletes, all the way down to some that are not very active at all," Singleton said. "And they really have a good time with it."

"I think the more that you can get them involved, then you're going to see good results, and they're going to see, this is a good thing for my life," Singleton said.

She said she agrees with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's guidelines.

"We try really, really hard to talk about those lifelong habits," Singleton said. "But we also only have them so many hours a day."

MORE: Federal government announces new physical fitness guidelines; fewer than one in three Americans meet standards

The problem is just 26 percent of men, 19 percent of women and 20 percent of adolescents across the country meet those requirements.

"It's hard with all these academics, and state testing, and all of those things," Singleton said. "The pressure's really on the academic teachers to make sure they get that quality time in the classroom."

So Singleton said students have to keep being active when they get home, outside of the state-mandated PE credit in school.

"The half-credit has forced a lot of kids to come in and take our class, and realized, oh this isn't so bad after all. I do like this."

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