Most of you probably know about the growing problem of childhood obesity, and the fact that the majority of children no longer get the 60 minutes of exercise a day that is recommended. What most people don’t know, however, is that only 25% of children who participate in organized sports get the required 60 minutes of daily exercise. According new research in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescence Medicine children in organized sports are generally only active for 45 minutes a day. This is a harsh reality considering most parents believe if their children are in organized sports they are getting plenty of exercise.
These findings are even more alarming because of the recent decline in physical education classes for school children. 44 million children participate in organized sports nationwide. This number sounds good until you look at the cold hard truth. On average young athletes spend about 30 minutes of their practice standing around, not being physically active. Physical activity is essential in many aspects of children’s lives. The author Nancy Shute says this about physical activitie’s importance in young children’s lives:
"Kids really need that hour of daily activity; there's abundant evidence showing that children do better academically when they have gym or other physical activity every day. And given that 16 percent of children are obese, and 31 percent are overweight, every extra minute of exercise reduces the risk of health problems that come with being overweight or obese."
I think these finding are intriguing because this maybe one of the many reasons children today are the most unfit our nation has ever seen. Changing the way young athletes practice sports may be a key component in making America’s youth healthier. What changes in youth sports do you think need to come about?
The article can be found here!
This is a very interesting topic, but from experience I agree that there is much lag time at practices.
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