Sick sitting Children move a little

Permanent sitting is a health risk that should not be underestimated

01/28/2015

The German health insurance (DKV) has its report on Monday „How healthy is Germany??“ 2015 presented to the public in Berlin. The questioning of parents about media use and the health behavior of their 6 to 12-year-old children has shown that adolescents spend too much time sitting in their seats. On weekdays the „Children on average about four hours, in addition to school lessons“ sit, so the announcement of the DKV.

According to the DKV, most children also exceed the recommended maximum duration of screen work when it comes to media usage. Three-quarters of children would watch TV for more than an hour a day, play games or surf the net. „72 percent of the children even have their own TV in the nursery and 50 percent have Internet access“, reports the DKV. „Children practically grow up sitting and copying the unhealthy lifestyle of their parents“, emphasizes the Chairman of the Board of DKV, Clemens Muth.

Surveys on health behavior
How healthy are German citizens? Researchers at the German Sport University Cologne (DSHS) have investigated this question on behalf of DKV. On Monday, they presented the results of the representative surveys to the public. The danger of long sitting was one of the focal points of the report. According to the news agency „dpa“ For example, the private health fund has asked over 3,000 Germans how often they move and what they eat. In addition, 300 parents were asked to rate the physical activity and media use of their 6-12 year old children.

Overstimulation and lack of exercise
The „excessive media usage“ According to the scientific director of the DKV report, Professor Ingo Froböse of the German Sport University Cologne „not just a sensory overload for the kids“, but it also usually causes the children to sit still for too long. In addition, many children experience a fundamental lack of exercise anyway. For example, intensive exercise is recommended for at least one hour per day, but not every second child succeeds. Almost one in five children complied with the hour of physical activity only two days a week or less. „At the latest in elementary school, the children have internalized that both school and leisure take place mainly while sitting“, emphasizes Clemens Muth.

Health risks due to prolonged sitting
According to the DKV, sitting for a long time is especially critical for the children because they are „in a sensitive stage of development in which they need exercise, for physical development, but also for the spiritual and social.“ In conjunction with unhealthy diet, the lack of exercise is largely responsible for the development of overweight and obesity in adolescents. Meanwhile, 15 percent of children in Germany are overweight, six percent even obese, reports the DKV. In addition, too many children would be considered pathologically hyperactive, which brings the senior physician of the DKV, Wolfgang Reuter also in connection with the lack of exercise and the overstimulation caused by the use of media. „I fear that we occasionally misdiagnose children because they can not live out their urge to move in a child-friendly way or because the sensory overload in front of large and small screens makes a contribution.“

Long sitting often leads to physical discomfort
The adverse health effects of prolonged sitting were also investigated last year by scientists from the University of Leicester (UK) in a study that found that this increased the risk of diabetes and heart disease. A US study also found that over-sitting increases the risk of colorectal cancer. Furthermore, prolonged sitting is often associated with improper posture and discomfort such as back pain, buttock pain, neck pain, neck tension, shoulder stabbing or upper arm pain. (Ad / fp)