Scouts learn to keep themselves healthy while working on the Personal Fitness merit badge. They explore nutrition and exercise. They develop an exercise plan and carry it out over 12 weeks. They also find out about careers related to personal fitness.
The Personal Fitness Merit Badge is required for the rank of Eagle.
Help with Answers for Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirements
Find specific helps for some of the Personal Fitness merit badge requirements listed below. Some of these resources will just give the answers. Others will provide engaging ways for older Scouts to introduce these concepts to new Scouts.
Ask Scouter Mom a question or share your ideas with others
Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirement 1: Physical and Dental Exam
Requirement 1 Helps and Answers
Why Are Physical Exams Important?
Why Are Preventative Habits Important?
What Are Some Diseases which Can Be Prevented?
Why Are Physical Exams Important?
- To learn about any possible problems you might not be aware of so they can be treated early
- To check your growth
- To provide an opportunity to ask questions about your health
- To learn how you can improve your health
Why Are Preventative Habits Important?
- To reduce the risk of obesity and diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and stroke
- To make you feel better about yourself and improve self-esteem
Tobacco Risks
- Can cause lung, throat, and other cancers
- Increases risk of heart attack and stroke
- Is highly addictive
Alcohol Risks
- Impairs judgement and can lead to other risky behaviors
- Also impairs reflexes, vision, and hearing
- Associated with depression, stroke, cancer, liver disease
- Can directly lead to automobile accidents, which are the leading cause of death for 16 to 20 year olds
What Are Some Diseases which Can Be Prevented?
- Communicable diseases can be greatly reduced by good hand hygiene
- Many diseases such as measles and whooping cough can be prevented by immunization
- Good eating habits improve your body’s defenses against cold and flu as well as more serious diseases such as heart disease
Seven Warning Signs of Cancer
- Change in bowel or bladder habits
- A sore which does not heal
- Unusual bleeding in the stool or urine
- A thickening or lump in the breast tissue
- Indigestion or difficulty swallowing
- Obvious change in a mole
- Nagging cough or hoarseness
Youth Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Health
- Obesity
- Sex (males are at higher risk)
- High blood pressure
- High blood cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Smoking
- Lack of exercise
- Family history of heart disease
How to Care for Your Teeth
- Brush your teeth immediately after meals
- Floss regularly
- Avoid sweets between meals
- Eat a healthy diet
- Have regular dental checkups
Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirement 2: What Personal Fitness Means
Requirement 2 Helps and Answers
What Does It Mean to Be Mentally Healthy?
Reasons for Being Fit
- Aspects of fitness work together
- Activities, exercise, diet, sleep, family life, religious involvement, and physical fitness impact mental and emotional fitness
- All types of fitness improve quality of life
- Fitness provides energy to do the activities we enjoy
- Developing a healthy fitness pattern continues throughout life
What Does It Mean to Be Mentally Healthy?
- Being able to express your feelings and emotions
- Not being controlled by anxiety
- Learning to communicate
- Understanding that ups and downs in life are temporary
What Does It Mean to Be Physically Healthy?
- Regular exercise
- Balanced diet
- Preventing disease through good habits and immunizations
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Refusing to use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs
- Getting enough sleep
What Does It Mean to Be Socially Healthy?
- Having good friends you can talk to and trust
- Developing social skills
- Dealing with peer pressure
- Growing in confidence
Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirement 3: Health Habits
Requirement 3 Helps and Answers
Minimizing Preventable Diseases
- Being up to date on immunizations
- Eating a balanced diet
- Not using harmful substances
- Getting a full night’s sleep
- Exercising regularly
- Being emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy
Why Is a Full Night’s Sleep Important?
- Controls metabolism and weight
- Strengthens the heart and prevents cardiovascular disease
- Boosts the immune system
- Increases knowledge retention
- Helps with memory
Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirement 4: Physical Fitness
Requirement 4 Helps and Answers
The Four Areas of Physical Fitness
The Four Areas of Physical Fitness
- Body composition
- Flexibility
- Muscular strength and endurance
- Cardiovascular and pulmonary endurance
Why Have Balance?
Difference challenges require different types of fitness. Being well balanced in all areas helps you be ready for all sorts of activities. For example, a long hike will require endurance. Putting up a tent requires flexibility.
What Is SCOUTStrong?
The SCOUTStrong Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) Challenge will help your unit members add physical activity to their lifestyle, as well as help them improve their eating habits. Learn more.
How Do Areas of Personal Fitness Relate to the Scout Law?
- Physical Fitness: Helpful, thrifty, clean
- Mental Fitness: Obedient, cheerful, brave, reverent
- Social Fitness: Trustworthy, loyal, friendly, courteous, kind
How Do Areas of Personal Fitness Relate to the Scout Oath?
- Physical fitness: For duty to country and to be physically strong
- Mental Fitness: Duty to God and to be morally straight
- Social Fitness: To help other people and to be mentally awake
Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirement 5: Nutrition
Requirement 5 Helps and Answers
What Is the Importance of Good Nutrition?
How Is Good Nutrition Related to Other Components of Personal Fitness?
What Is the Importance of Good Nutrition?
- Food is your body’s fuel, so give it good fuel
- Poor fuel leads to low energy, dehydration, weight gain, and illness
- Good fuel helps the body function and heal
How Is Good Nutrition Related to Other Components of Personal Fitness?
- Keeps your muscles strong and helps your body heal
- Gives you energy to do activities you enjoy with your friends
- Makes you feel good and improves emotional well being
Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirement 6: Initial Fitness Tests
Requirement 6 Helps and Answers
Aerobic Fitness Test
Flexibility Test
Aerobic Fitness Test
Record your performance on ONE of the following tests:
- Run/walk as far as you can as fast as you can in nine minutes OR
- Run/walk one mile as fast as you can
Flexibility Test
Using a sit-and-reach box constructed according to specifications shown below, make four repetitions and record the fourth reach. This last reach must be held steady for 15 seconds to qualify. (Remember to keep your knees down.)
Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirement 7: 12 Week Fitness Program
Requirement 7 Helps and Answers
Build Muscle and Camaraderie with this Fitness Plan
These Scouts made a fitness plan which involves getting together every Saturday for exercises of their own choosing.
Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirement 8: Fitness Log
Requirement 8 Helps and Answers
Log Sheet for Personal Fitness Merit Badge
Requirement 8 for this badge include doing some fitness tests periodically and recording a fitness plan over a period of weeks. This worksheet will help you keep track.
Personal Fitness Merit Badge Requirement 9: Careers in Fitness
Some Careers in Fitness
- Dietician
- Sports Medicine
- Personal Trainer
- Physical Education Teacher
Resources
Get fit with these related ideas and achievements:
Sports Drink Recipe
Save some money by making your own sports drink for these activities.
Related Achievements
Program Features
Program features help youth leaders plan a month’s worth of meetings and outings around a theme. These two program features will help troop members earn this badge.
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