Children today exercise less than children of previous generations did. Fear of traffic and strangers have caused parents to allow less kids' movement on their own. The protected life of today's children, combined with the increased TV watching and computer and video games playing, have created a generation of ultra sedentary youngsters, and doctors think that this will lead to future health problems.
There is less cycling, less playing outside. Kids get taken everywhere by car. They no longer walk to school.
Studies monitoring kids'a ctivities have shown that a large proportion of children do not experience even the equivalent of a 10-minute brisk walk over a 4-day period. When the heart rate of these youngsters was monitored over the same 4-day period, the result was that the heart was put under almost no strain at all.
The heart is a muscle and, like any other muscle, it grows stronger only if you put it under stress. Doctors recommend that kids undertake at least 20 minutes' vigorous activity 3 times a week. These guidelines have been found to reduce the risk of heart disease in adults.
A high percentage of children in both the UK and the USA have also been found overweight, when measured against criteria laid down by the Royal College of Physicians in Britain, and to have higher levels of cholesterol than that recommended by the American Health Foundation.
Doctors recommend that, in order to help their children, adults become more active too. Example and direct influence are always the best method of teaching. Parents have to leave the car at home when they go to local shops; walk upstairs instead of taking the lift; take their kids walking, cycling, swimming.
It takes a lot of effort to be physically active. But there is evidence to show that inactive children become inactive adults, and inactivity contributes to many conditions, like osteoporosis, coronary heart disease, obesity.
Parents should remember the words of the 19th century statesman the Earl of Derby:
Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.
Five fitness measures for children (aged 8-16)
- Can your child jog round a netball court three times, or a football pitch once, without becoming seriously out of breath?
- Can your child keep up with group activities in the playground without becoming excessively red in the face?
- Does your child have three or more sessions per week of activities lasting 20 minutes or more that require moderate to vigorous levels of exertion?
- Does your child have some physical activity every day, whether it is part of sports lessons, the journey to school or recreation?
- Does your child have a blood pressure of 130mmHg (systolic) over 85mmHg (diastolic) or less?
If your answer to all of these questions is yes, your child is likely to be in good physical shape. If not, his or her level of activity might need to be increased.
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