American government suggests that children and teens should get 60 minutes of physical activity every day. But less than half of children and just 10% of teens meet these suggestions. What's the deal?
It's reported that about 44 million US kids participate in organised sports (such as baseball, softball, soccer). But a new study says just one quarter of kids get the governmentrecommended amount of exercise when they show up for team practices. The study, published online last month in a medical journal, says younger kids do better than teens.
The study looked at 200 kids aged 7 to 14 who played on soccer, baseball and softball teams. The kids wore sensors (传感器) to measure their activity during practices.
During each practice, kids averaged 30 minutes of downtime (休息时间). "It is not clear how much physical activity is provided by youth sports practices，" said the Californiabased authors of the study. "Much of the time may be inactive, such as receiving verbal (口头的) instructions and waiting for turns."
What's a parent or coach—or kid—to do? The authors of the study suggest increasing the number of practices, extending the time of practices and changing it up during practices. For example, the coach could give each player a ball at the same time. Rather than focusing on one player's skills, it's best to get the whole team moving.
But, the study says, the bottom line is that team sports aren't enough exercise. For a child to meet the US physical activity suggestions, the kid will have to do more than just join a team. Exercise is also necessary during breaks, during physical education class, after school and even on the way to school.
