Children of
the future….. Fat or Fit?
Well summer is well and truly over and most people’s holidays
are now just a distant memory. I did take my
trainers on holiday with me and ran round the complex a couple of times. I did
get plenty of rest though and my batteries are fully recharged. We had a Bootcamp
team which did the Tough Mudder at the beginning of the month and following
that I completed the Great North Run, so I have been busy since my holidays and
I feel I will be due another one soon ;)
Anyway my holiday gave me the idea for this month’s
article. Whilst I was lying on my sun lounger reading my book watching kids and
families splash around in the pool and on the beach I was quite shocked at the
amount of overweight children there were! It was quite frightening to think
that children have such unhealthy lifestyles which lead to them being
overweight, which will no doubt follow them into adulthood and may cause health
problems in the future.
Now some of these kids were running around, they were
in and out of the water swimming and messing about, so why were they
overweight…. Bad diet? Lack of exercise the rest of the year? Or following the
example of their parents?
I realise that times have changed and that technology
has taken over good old fashioned playing outside, perhaps when we were kids we
could get away with eating more treats because we were so active. Whatever the
reason is for children being overweight I believe that children still need to
be getting more exercise.
Below are some guidelines for children aged 5-18 years
old for the amount and type of exercise they should be getting:-
·
The amount of
exercise children & young people should engage in everyday is at least 60
minutes of exercise at a moderate to vigorous intensity.
·
Vigorous
intensity activities should be incorporated at least three days a week,
including those that strengthen bone & muscle.
·
The amount of
time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods should be minimal!
Moderate intensity activities will cause children’s
hearts to beat faster, breathe harder and to get warmer. They should still be
able to hold a conversation. Activities include walking to school, playing in
the playground & riding a bike.
Vigorous intensity activities will cause the children
to get even warmer, their hearts to beat rapidly and their breathing will be
much harder, and they will find it hard to hold a conversation. Activities
include running, football, aerobics, playing tag (any adults who come to
Bootcamp when we start with a game of tag will know how hard it is!)
Good bone strengthening exercises include running,
skipping, jumping, gymnastics & many sporting games. Muscle strengthening activities are anything
that requires children to lift/use their own bodyweight or work against a
resistance. Examples of such exercises can include press-ups, sit-ups climbing
tree’s, tug of war & gymnastics to name a few.
The benefits of exercise include:
·
Helps maintain a
healthy weight
·
Improves bone
health
·
Improved
cardiovascular health
·
Helps develop new
skills – physical & social
·
Improves self
confidence
Even though children take part in PE and exercise at
school they need to be carrying on activity out of school as well as following
a healthy diet. Some parents/guardians may not know how to help their children
be active or what are the healthiest food choices. There are lots of advice out
there and many sports clubs/activity classes which children can attend to help
them get the most out of their exercise session. Now I don’t want to encourage
everyone out there to become a ‘pushy parent’ but I would encourage people to
help their children become healthier and more active.
Andrea Springthorpe
Fit 4 Force owner
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