In the latest move against childhood obesity, schools in the Northeast are including snowshoeing in their curriculum, according to an Associated Press article this week. In the last five years, the region has become home to about 500 school-based snowshoe programs.

Since skiing is involved, expensive, and usually won’t fit into a 45-minute gym period, strapping on mesh covered oblong frames that fit right over regular shoes is ideal. And it’s easy for kids––of any size––to quickly grasp. “It looks complex, but the reality is it’s just walking,” Kathy Murphy, general manager of Vermont-based Tubbs Snowshoe Co., which helps schools get equipment and training, told the AP. “They are able to master the sport in just minutes.”

And even fairly relaxed snowshoeing can burn up to 1,000 calories an hour. Another benefit is that kids are getting outside, bonding with nature on wildlife walks with science teachers, and some are likely learning for the first time how good it feels to get sweaty when it’s cold.

Some states, like Vermont and New Hampshire, offer grants to schools to buy snowshoes and build trails. SnowSports Industries America (their school-friendly site, winterfeelsgood.com, says it all) offers grant information and a sample curriculum on its website. That group is also working with universities that train phys ed teachers to educate them on the one sport that gets kids of all backgrounds outside and moving when it’s cold and snowy. Some snowshoe companies offer discounted rates to schools.

What happens, though, when it’s just cold and not at all snowy? “We snowshoe right on the dirt, on the grass,” one teacher in Virginia told the AP. “Right now they (the students) don’t know any better.”

If you’re looking to join the 4.7 million people who snowshoed last year in the bracing outdoors, check out this site (also from SnowSports Industries America). It’s full of great tips for novices, trail locations, and product guides. Or, to delve deeper, read this LIME post about the recently launched Snowshoe Magazine.

Photo: AP via CNN.com