Unless you’ve been stuck behind the bulk bean bins in a natural food co-op since 1968, you know that our children’s fast food tastes and sedentary preferences have put too many of them on the fast track to chronic lifelong health problems such as diabetes and obesity.
“When you look at obesity rates [for children 10–17], back in the 1960s they were 5 percent, now it’s at 17 percent,” says Beth Lewis, Ph.D., assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Minnesota, who specializes in sport and exercise psychology. She follows research conducted biannually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an arm of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC’s National Youth Risk Behavior survey findings should concern parents and anyone else who cares about kids.
But what we eat is only half of the fitness equation. What we do to use up extra calories counts, too. Now researchers are looking at levels of physical activity: our kids are coming up with a fitness deficit.
“There isn’t good data looking at changes in [children’s] physical activity,” Lewis says, “[but] based on obesity rates, we think it’s gone down.” The CDC started tracking physical activity in 1999 — back then, the recommended minimum was 20 minutes of vigorous activity three times a week — running, pedaling a bike hard, jumping rope, that sort of thing.
Today’s guidelines raise that bar: for children 5–17 years old, the recommended minimum amount of exercise is 60 minutes five times a week, or taking 13,000 to 15,000 steps a day.
Only about a third of adolescents 10–17, or 36 percent, meet those minimum guidelines, Lewis says. The vast majority of those kids are varsity athletes training hard in at least one sport. (In Minnesota, 25 percent of high school students are varsity athletes.) More disturbing: there’s a clear gender gap in fitness, with 44 percent of boys meeting the guidelines, but just 28 percent of girls.
“There is a lot more focus on boys and sports [at home and culturally],” Lewis explains. But genetics may play a role, too, she says; researchers have found that even among preschoolers, “[Boys] tend to be more physical and seek out physical activity a bit more.”
Another disturbing disparity in the CDC findings is that “Caucasian kids are more likely to meet [the guidelines] than African American or Hispanic [youth].”
Researchers found that issues of neighborhood safety and access to decent playgrounds, courts, or fields concerned some teens and their parents. “Sometimes it is not safe for kids to be outside without their parents,” Lewis said. “I’d guess, too, that many parents who may be single or working a couple of jobs may not have the time to shuttle kids to sports practices or games, nor the money to pony up for league fees, uniforms, and equipment.”
Another factor in the fitness deficit is the decrease in time allotted for school recess and physical education.
Lewis believes schools should maintain recess and physical education requirements. Minneapolis high school students have an option to take their two semesters of the physical education graduation requirement online. “Online gym” might not be as kooky as it sounds, though.
“Lots of research on Internet-based physical activity intervention has shown that such methods do help sedentary adults increase their physical activity,” Lewis says, though there’s been little research on whether it works for teens. “In a Web 2.0 world, online learning — even gym class — comes naturally to kids like mine, who opted for online gym in order to use their classroom time for academic subjects.” The curriculum promotes basic understanding of the physiological benefits of exercise and emphasizes lifelong participation in enjoyable team or individual sports or active pursuits like biking or walking.
And enjoyment is something that gets lost in the quantifiable, goal-oriented stuff.
“So much of kids’ lives are scheduled,” Lewis laments. “But kids need to get this whole issue of play back in; just going outside and enjoying being active, not being a chore they have to do.”
We wait all winter to shed our layers and feel the sun. Get out the jump ropes, the hula-hoops, and the hopscotch chalk. Tie one on — a pair of running shoes, that is — and celebrate spring.
Kris Berggren’s modest fitness goal is to keep the devil at the door by running the Minneapolis-area lakes as long as it’s above 20 degrees and not dark out.
Resources
The President’s Challenge
PresidentsChallenge.org/home_teens.aspx
Families can use the goal-setting tips, activity log, and other tools to get moving together.
Fitness and Your 13- to 18-Year-Old
http://tinyurl.com/53svzb
Good information about family fitness from KidsHealth.org
