Kids to Couch Potatoes: Earlier and Faster than Ever
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07.17.08
We know a lot of kids don't get a lot of exercise, but even kids who were active at 9 years old, and getting three hours of activity per day, lose it by the time they are 15 and barely manage to get half an hour. Study author Dr. Philip Nader says the reasons are many:
"There may be competing, more interesting things to do; physical education is being done away with in some places, and so is recess; there aren't as many open spaces or parks, and being outside is one of the main things that keeps people active," he said.
Plus, children don't get the same routine daily activity that youngsters from a generation or two ago did. "Kids used to just run around and ride their bikes everywhere, and kids used to walk to school. Now, parents drive them," Nader noted.
Another Doctor noted that there is nothing new here:
"This drop-off has always been there. Very young kids are extremely active, and as kids get older, they get into different lifestyles and different activities," said Dr. Goutham Rao, clinical director of the Weight Management and Wellness Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
"Games like hide-and-go-seek get displaced by homework and computer time," he noted.
What's really missing today, he added, is the everyday activity. "Kids don't walk to school anymore, and that's probably the most physical activity they might get. No one uses stairs or rides bikes anymore. And, our environment isn't always suitable for those things," said Rao. ::Health Day
In the UK, it isn't much better. From the Times:
"They may have designer clothes, computer games, iPods and mobile phones, but children today are being denied the freedom to play outside on their own that previous generations all took for granted, research has found.
Evidence presented to the inquiry from the Home Office and Department for Education and Skills backed up the findings. Two thirds (67 per cent) of eight to ten-year-olds have never been to a shop or the park by themselves, along with a quarter (24 per cent) of 11 to 15-year-olds. A further third of eight to ten-year-olds have never played outside without an adult being present, the departments said." ::TimesOnline
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omg is he playing sim city.. i love that game.
I'll bet the activity rate goes down even more when these kids get their licenses at 16 in the US. I know that's when my physical activity went down and I started to get fat. I am trying to reverse that now, especially consider the high gas prices and the detrimental effect to the environment, but I have a long way to go, considering that I spent so many years as a lazy bum. Hopefully, as gas prices rise and cause fossil fuel usage to be something for just the rich, people of all ages will start walking, riding bicycles and using public transportation.
Just horrifying how many kids have never played outside without an adult present. My 6 and 3 year olds play in the back yard without me watching them directly all the time. I consider it a better "babysitter" for when I need to get something done indoors than the television. The outdoors sure holds their interest longer, anyhow.
I won't let them go to the park alone yet, but the supervision as they play out front is getting lighter because I know it's pretty safe. Most kidnappings and such come from family members, and even then the odds are low. We've been taught to be so paranoid about events that are really highly unlikely.
And yes, we walk to school. I so love being close enough to do that. We have neighbors that drive to it, and by the time you include loading and unloading the kids, no time is saved.
Kill your TV, I tell you! Kill your TV.
We didn't have TV till both kids were in High School. They are still very active.
Computers were boring because I worked on them, and I wouldn't buy any games.
We're a provider of green and sustainable office furniture, but this just chokes. This is just one more example of our society’s excesses in the name of comfort and safety. And that to live means to consume and consume BIG.
Of course, we’re all for indoor comfort (especially in one’s workplace), but this is too much.
All of this fails to take into consideration the very real changes to the body during puberty. The conservation of energy for growth - which occurs at a higher rate during puberty than any time other than infancy - as well as a shift in circadian rhythms (which demand that teens get much more sleep than smaller children or adults, a demand that is frequently ignored) may have much more to do with teens' desire to go run around/bike around for the sake of movement than the prevalence of new technologies or anything so simple as laziness.