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Exercise Declines As Kids Grow Older
By Christina Quick | July 17, 2008
A study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association offers new clues as to why so many youngsters are overweight.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota found kids become more sedentary after they leave elementary school, with daily physical activity dropping between the ages of 9 and 15, from an average of three hours to less than one hour.
Researchers collected the data from approximately 1,000 children and youth who wore accelerometers. The devices measured any kind of movement, including walking.
On Saturdays and Sundays, 15-year-olds moved only about 35 minutes a day, the study found.
The most rapid decline in activity occurred at around 13 for girls and between 14 and 15 for boys.
In a related study published earlier this year in the journal Pediatrics, it was reported the amount of leisure time spent on the computer increases dramatically between the ages of 11 and 18.
When walking to the kitchen for a soda and bag of chips is the only exercise many kids get, should we be surprised that so many are obese?
Topics: Health |
