This Digest discusses the importance of and ways to foster activity and exercise in children. Following an introduction, the Digest is organized into four sections. The first section deals with the significant health benefits of physical activity, including: reduction in chronic disease risk; lowered risk of colon cancer; increase in bone density; reduction of anxiety, improvement in body image and mood; development of physical fitness; and promotion of weight control. Section two discusses childhood obesity. The third section assesses how much physical activity is enough and suggests that among young people such activity can be promoted by daily planned and structured physical education. The final section describes ways to promote physical activity among young people. It is reported that over the years, state requirements for daily physical education have eroded, and today no states currently have such a requirement. In addition to physical education, schools can promote physical activity in a variety of ways. For example, they can: promote collaboration between physical education and classroom teachers; provide extracurricular physical activity programs; coordinate physical activities with community agencies; encourage and enable parental involvement in physical activity; and provide physical and social environments that encourage and enable physical activity. Resources are included. (Contains 12 references.) (LL)