Jul 15, 2008 7:47 pm US/Eastern
Children Come Up Short When It Comes To Exercise
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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Children are coming up short when it comes to exercise.
WJZ
There's concrete evidence that children in Maryland and across the nation are coming up short when it comes to meeting one of the most critical health needs.
Healthwatch reporter Kellye Lynn has the results of a just published study on children and exercise. The researchers behind the study hope it will be a call to action to get more young people moving.
When 7-year-old Morgan Shugars isn't sharpening her artistic talents, she likes to hang out at the pool. Swimming may be a priority now, but will it continue to be as Morgan grows older?
Newly published research indicates America's kids are falling short when it comes to getting the recommended 60 minutes of exercise a day.
The study showed as the age of children increased, physical activity decreased.
Children in the study wore activity monitors. At age 9 they averaged about three hours of moderate to vigorous activity a day. But each year, their activity level dropped.
By the age of 15, they were getting only 49 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity during weekdays and 35 minutes a day during the weekends.
"What kids are doing in school now is more than it has ever been in terms of demanding intellectual activity. But unfortunately, they're also being distracted by the flat screen," said Dr. Charles Shubin of Mercy Pediatrics.
Dr. Shubin blames TVs, video games and computers for rising levels of inactivity among young people. But the study also found fewer parks, cuts in school recess and an increase in traffic are also responsible.
"They unfortunately wind up sitting there inactive, putting on the weight and it leads to eventual disease: diabetes, heart disease [and] strokes," said Dr. Shubin.
Dr. Shubin emphasizes that those health problems place a tremendous burden on the nation's health care system.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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