Worldwide children are less fit

The fitness of the children decreases rapidly

20/11/2013

In order to determine the extent to which the fitness of children from around the world has changed, scientists have analyzed a total of 50 studies from 28 countries on this topic. The result: children are not as fit as their parents were 30 years ago. For their research, the researchers used studies from 1976 to 2010 from all continents, and obtained data from more than 25 million children aged 9 to 17 years. Among other things, these studies looked at how fast children can walk a particular distance and how far they can get in a given time. The tests took an average of 5 to 15 minutes and covered a distance of half to two miles. The experts presented their findings to the public at the prestigious American Heart Association congress.

Tendencies to cardiovascular diseases
According to this, the endurance of the children per decade decreased by about five percent, which in turn is associated with a decrease in cardiovascular fitness. This trend could have serious consequences in the future and increase the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, said health scientist Grant Tomkinson of the University of South Australia in Adelaide.

Also from Germany, data from running tests of over 2000 children between the ages of nine and ten were included in the analysis. However, these data were collected between 1988 and 1999 and are not current. The endurance of German children has decreased by about six percent during this period. In the US and Canada it was even 8 percent compared.

If one compares the data of the analysis with the results of the parents in their youth, it is noticeable that the children are about 15 percent less fit. According to Tomkinson, the causes have social as well as physical factors. In up to 60 percent of cases, the results are explained by an increase in body fat percentage.

"Young people can be fit in different ways," said Tomkinson. But not all types of fitness promote a good cardiovascular system. For a good health, you should be able to walk a longer distance without getting out of breath. (Fr)

Image: Annamartha