Mar 22, 2016 6 min read

The benefits of healthy eating and exercise for people of all ages are common knowledge. For example, both aerobic activity and strength training can lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

After all, as the late entrepreneur Jim Rohn said, “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”

Most kids get a little movement in during gym class or extracurricular activities, but are they getting enough physical activity overall?

Setting a foundation of fitness at a young age can ensure your kids engage in an active lifestyle into adulthood — and the advantages are more than just physical. Research shows that children who are physically active outside of school gym class perform better at school than their peers. For example, a recent study by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) found that middle-school kids who exercised vigorously on a weekly basis had better concentration and received higher grades than those who merely participated in compulsory physical education classes.

The problem, of course, is that it has become increasingly difficult to motivate children to get outdoors and be active, especially with the increasing popularity of television platforms like Hulu and Netflix. In fact, children today spend 50 percent less time participating in unstructured outdoor activity than they did 40 years ago — partially because they’re so attached to their technology.

Fortunately, just because many kids have smartphones these days doesn’t mean they have to sit indoors playing Angry Birds or Candy Crush Saga all day. There are a number of apps available for both iOS and Android that encourage kids to become more active and play outside.

Here are just three examples of innovative apps that are getting kids moving:

Remember the Wii games that forced your kids to get some exercise? NFL Play 60 is sort of like that, but with more features and the convenience of installation on your smartphone.

Tailored for children ages nine to 11, this app lets your video-game-junkie children pretend they’re real National Football League (NFL) stars by selecting an avatar and engaging in football-type moves like jumps, turns and catches.

The caveat? Your kids have to actually move to make the avatar do the same.

This app, created by both the NFL and the American Heart Association, makes exercise fun for children by creating clever obstacles to jump over, cheering on players with stats about yardage (compared to true NFL players) and unlocking new characters and coins based on performance.

Players even get to choose from 32 real NFL cities to make it seem like they’re actually moving around on a football field.

Download: NFL Play 60 for iOS (Free) | Android (Free)

There are still options for younger children. FitQuest Lite is an app designed for kids as young as four years old.

The app plays (literally) on kids’ natural affinity for animals. Specifically, the goal of the game is to safely help a cute, animated baby squirrel reach its treehouse by running in place, hopping up and down and ducking under virtual obstacles — all with natural physical movement.

You don’t have to be of toddler age to enjoy this game, either. An 11-year-old on the app’s iOS download page reviewed the program by writing, “I used to hate exercise and all of the exercise apps were boring and I quit the first few days. But … this app is great and I’m finally getting some good exercise!”

After all, what child doesn’t want to help a baby squirrel find its home?

Download: FitQuest Lite for iOS (Free)

Sure, zombies are most popular around Halloween, but the so-called “Zombie Apocalypse” is a consistent theme recently in both books and movies.

This app is designed for children 12 or older. Zombies, Run! is a great app to get your children outside. Co-created by London-based novelist Naomi Alderman, the game is a mission to run back to your “home base” while the audio and visual effects make you think you’re being chased by a zombie horde.

The app syncs up with your smartphone’s playlist, so kids can jog it out to their favorite tunes as they complete their own zombie adventure story.

The ultimate goal of the game is to become a hero for your civilization, as you virtually collect supplies along your journey to save shivering survivors.

While the app is designed to encourage users to run outdoors, if you have a rainy or snowy day, it works on a treadmill, too.

The app is a free download, but you can upgrade to various levels of “pro” memberships for additional features like tracking runs, global positioning system (GPS) functions and syncing workouts with Apple Health. The “pro” membership starts at $2.99 per month.

Check out the app and start running to save the world!

Download: Zombies, Run! for iOS (Free) | Android (Free)

Most parents are used to seeing their kids’ eyes glued to their smartphones — even when they’re trying to have a serious discussion. Chances are they’re updating their status on Facebook, uploading food pictures to Instagram or playing the latest, most colorfully upgraded version of Candy Crush Saga.

Kids receiving smartphones are getting younger and younger in this day and age. These apps are great for convincing children, tweens, and teens to get moving for their health.