Kamis, 21 Juni 2012

Why young girls are getting fatter: They manage just 17minutes of exercise a day

Why young girls are getting fatter: They manage just 17minutes of exercise a day

  • Children only get a third of recommended exercise a day
  • Girls less active than boys by the age of eight

By Fiona Macrae

PUBLISHED: 16:00 EST, 20 June 2012 | UPDATED: 19:08 EST, 20 June 2012

Many young girls only get 17 minutes of exercise a day, research suggests.

Boys fare little better, with the average eight to ten year old active for only 24 minutes a day.

The figures â€" which fall well short of the hour of  daily exercise recommended â€" have been described by campaigners as unbelievable.

Girls only got an average of 17 minutes of exercise a day

Girls only got an average of 17 minutes of exercise a day

And they will fuel concerns about the future health of a ‘couch potato’ generation which prefers playing computer games to football.

Newcastle University researchers fitted 508 schoolchildren aged between eight and ten with monitors that recorded how active â€" or inactive â€" they were during their waking hours.

The results revealed how little time the children, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, spent doing moderate or vigorous activities such as running, skipping or dancing.

Overall, only 4 per cent of their time was spent being this physically active â€" equivalent to around 20 minutes.

But this was an average figure for both sexes and girls were much less active than boys.

The researchers, who believe the picture to be the same nationwide, said children must get into the habit of exercising from a young age if Britain’s obesity time-bomb is to be defused.

In need of role models? Olympic athletes like Jessica Ennis could change children's attitudes to sport

In need of role models? Olympic athletes like Jessica Ennis could change children's attitudes to sport

Lead researcher Dr Mark Pearce said: ‘Given the importance of physical activity in maintaining good health, we know we need to get our kids more active.

‘What we hadn’t known until now is how young we need to be catching them.’

He said it was worrying that even by the age of eight girls were less active than boys.

Previous studies have found that many girls lose interest in sport by their teens but it was not known just how early this lack of enthusiasm set in.

Dr Pearce said possible solutions include encouraging young girls to see female athle tes as role models and offering a wider range of sports in schools, such as dance.

The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, also found the children of older fathers tended to be less active.

This could be due to older fathers having more senior posts at work and so putting in longer hours, leaving them less time to play with their children.

They may also have different attitudes to parenting or generally be less active.

Surprisingly, the study found that children whose parents restricted their TV viewing exercised less than those allowed to watch as much as they wanted.

Dr Pearce said it is possible that seeing sport on TV encourages youngsters to participate themselves, or the finding could simply be due to chance.

Growing appetites for junk food could mean today's children risk being the first generation to die younger than their parents

Growing appetites for junk food could mean today's children risk being the first generation to die younger than their parents

With almost a third of youngsters aged between two and 15 too heavy for their height, obesity experts warn that sedentary lifestyles and growing appetites for junk food mean today’s children risk being the first generation to die at an earlier age than their parents.

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said many children don’t have the motivation to exercise in their free time and schools must devote more time to PE.

He said: ‘Exercise alone won’t bring down obesity levels but it is desperately important to the health of the child.

‘And it will make them concentrate better in the classroom and improve their behaviour.’

Department of Health guidelines say children aged between five and 18 should do at least one hour of moderate to vigorous activity each day, such as sports, brisk walking, dancing or cycling.

And they should do activities that strengthen the muscles and bones â€" such as skipping, gymnastics or sit-ups â€" three times a week.

Adults should be active for at least 30 minutes at least five days a week.


Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

  • Newest
  • Oldest
  • Best rated
  • Worst rated

"In need of role models? Olympic athletes like Jessica Ennis could change children's attitudes to sport”br No it won’t - this is the big lie pedalled by the olympic authorities to justify lord coe -ca -cola`s elitist circus.brThe reason Ennis is featured is because she’s reasonably attractive (especially when heavily airbrushed) not TOO muscley - it`s THIS aspect of her that girls will be attracted to, not all the hard physical training it takes to become an athlete, or even just fit - too much effort for most, they just want to pop a pill to get slim â€" minimum effort to look attractive (nothing to do with health) - after all those sugary drinks their mummies allow them to consume!brAn as far as “fit” is concerned â€" the modern parlance for that word doesn’t mean “healthy” â€" it means “sexually attractive”, so let’s not confuse the olympic message with the HEALTH of the nation, or it would be being sponsored by fruit and cereal growers, not multi national obesity peddalers.

Report abuse

It probably has as much, if not more, to do with the amounts of additives, growth promoters and bisphenols etc in their food.

Report abuse

Ocres, Warrington - having been to the countries you mention, I agree with you, but the problem is in the UK we are so overcrowded now and unlike the rest of Europe the UK throws money at other countries and social welfare, rather than improving paths, roads, parks, sports facilities etc which would benefit everybody. I attended a very big high school in the 80's and nobody was fat there, yet nobody was hung up on dairy, carbs or vegan nonsense, they ate all sorts, we did all walk or cycle (I loved my bike!) to school though. Apart from about 10 girls, the rest of us (around 60!) hated PE because of boring netball so avoided it, yet again, we were all like whippets. They do need to make PE more exciting for girls though e.g. martial arts, zumba and children need to start walking to school again, boys and girls.

Report abuse

Stressed, Leeds, UK, 21/06/2012 04:22 Has some okay points, a huge amount of the population is actually lactose intolerant too..I worry though not about the fresh foods we consume but the stuff we put on them, the chemicals ect are doing untold damage to our bodies too.

Report abuse

Keeping your Right or Left arm to your ear for hours on end is not exercise. Lol!!

Report abuse

Charlie, Yorks - absolutely spot on, well said!

Report abuse

It is not 'rocket science'...get off the technology and start moving!!

Report abuse

Were the three girls in the top photo deliberately chosen? I've seen more fat on a racing snake. I live near 3 schools and a 508 pupil study is a joke. Apart from that, it is none of Newcastle Universities business how people live their life. Especially if it provokes senseless jobsworths to send letters to parents which are wrong and cause alarm.

Report abuse

My daughters School has PE or Games 5 days a week, do all Schools not follow this ?

Report abuse

This is all down to lack of excercise, everywhere you look now there are very overweight girls and a lot are clinically obese. I am 45 and we had a much worst diet than teenagers of today, but we were ten times more active walking almost everywhere and PE was compulsory. Most of my female classmates are still slim and more healthy than much younger girls .

Report abuse

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Diposting oleh di

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar

Langganan: Posting Komentar (Atom)