Simple kids' health strategies work

New research provides support for old strategies for preventing childhood obesity and promoting healthy growth and development. Watching less TV, walking and biking to school, and playing sports can all contribute to good health and positive lifestyle habits.

• In Denmark, researchers studied all the 7th to 9th graders in one city and showed that cycling to school was associated with lower BMI and lower odds of being overweight or obese compared to passive travel (like riding in a car). Walking to school was associated with lower odds of being overweight.
• In Portugal, a study of teenage boys showed that those who participated in organized sports spent significantly more time in moderate to vigorous physical activity than non-participants.
• A study of teens in New England reached a similar conclusion and predicted that obesity prevalence would decrease by 26% if adolescents played on at least two sports teams, and by 22% if teens walked or biked to school four or five days a week.

"If parents are truly interested in preventing overweight and obesity, getting their kids to join one or more sports teams may be an effective way to do that," said Keith Drake, lead author of the New England study and a postdoctoral research fellow at Dartmouth College. "I believe there is an activity out there for every child, and I would encourage parents to let them try many activities."

• In Quebec, Canada, researchers found a link between TV-watching habits in toddlers and measures of their fitness several years later, in 2nd grade. Each hour per week of TV at age 29 months corresponded with a lower score on a test of leg muscle strength, and a higher waist size.
• In Oregon, researchers looked at young children's activity levels. In a group of 200 families with 2- to 4-year-olds, all the children were spending 4 to 5 hours a day sitting still (not including naps and meals). While parents may see quiet play as a positive behavior, "this is an age where movement is essential," said David Schary, the studies' lead author. When parents were classified as "neglectful" (or uninvolved), kids had an extra 30 minutes of screen time a day--which adds up to a significant amount over time, and "sets the stage for the rest of their lives."
• In another study of the same group of families, Schary found that any kind of encouragement of active play by parents (playing with kids, watching them play, or driving them to activities) makes a difference for preschoolers' activity levels.

Source: http://familyfitness.about.com/b/2012/07/20/simple-kids-health-strategies-work.htm

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