Numerous public health, professional, and clinical organizations have established physical activity recommendations for young people. Many of the public health-based guidelines, such as those from USDA recommend at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity for children and adolescents on most, preferably all, days of the week. NASPE recommends at least 60 minutes and up to several hours on all, or most days of the week for 5-12 year old children. Clinical guidelines, such as those from the American Cancer society and National Institutes of Health recommend 30-60 minutes per day. Most recently, results from a CDC-convened expert panel that reviewed and analyzed literature related to the effects of physical activity on health and behavioral outcomes were released. The panel concluded school-age youth (ages 6-18) should participate in 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity on a daily basis. While several recommendations do exist, the consistency of recommending at least 60 minutes per day continues to grow. Many young people are not meeting the recommended amounts of physical activity, which creates one of the greatest challenges for physical educators, public health practitioners, and community health promotion workers. For example, the recent 2003 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data indicates that nearly 12% of 9-12 grade students report no participation in either vigorous or moderate physical activity during the previous week. Overall, 33% of students had not participated in sufficient levels of vigorous (>20 minutes on >3 of the past 7 days) and had not participated in sufficient moderate physical activity (>30 minutes on >5 of the past 7 days) to elicit specific outcomes, including health-related benefits. This presentation will provide participants with up to date information on the current recommendations for physical activity among young people as well as evidence-based strategies for implementing and promoting physical activity programs to increase participation rates. Keyword(s): health promotion, national issues, physical activity