Physical activity assures fitness for children

Donya Betancourt, Pediatrician, drdonya@hotmail.com

News reports continue to pour in letting us know that the obesity rate in children has doubled. But how could this have happened?

Studies show that active children are healthier, stronger, do better in school, sleep better and generally grow up to be fit adults.

Toddlers are on the go from the time they wake until they collapse into little exhausted piles. But this period doesn't last forever and children can go in the opposite direction and become miniature couch potatoes.

What turns our toddlers into stationary adolescents and obese adults? And how can you raise your child to be active to prevent this problem?

First, start with yourself. If you want an active child, be active yourself. Children of parents who exercise have been found to be about six times more likely to be active than children whose parents are sedentary. If parents exercise, it's a very powerful stimulus for a child to exercise, and exercising together gives you positive family time.

Just getting kids moving is the key, promoting activity rather than exercise by free-play activities such as hide-and-seek, jumping or hopscotch, because some children associate the word exercise with a form of physical punishment.

The trick is to find things your child likes to do. If your child likes to climb, head for the nearest jungle gym or climbing wall. If your child likes to read, walk to the neighborhood library for a book.

If your child is interested in an organized sport or activity, you'll want to consider the time commitment, cost, characteristics of the sport, your child's physical maturity level, the quality of instruction and what you hope he or she gets out of it.

As I wrote in the beginning about energetic toddlers, you should start when your child is young by directing that mania into a lifelong love of physical activity. Make up contests to see how far or high your child can jump. Mark the distance or height on a floor or wall and use that mark the next time you play to see if your child can improve on the first effort.

By observing toddlers in action, you should be able to find things they like to do and that can be incorporated into a game.

By incorporating physical activity into your child's life at an early age, you lay the foundation for good fitness habits. But the activities should be fun, an integral part of daily activity, suitable for lifelong participation and varied.

Remember the trick is to keep it fun and to not make it a chore.

The biggest reason children are less active today is television, also known as the boob tube. Video games and computers also add to the equation. Numerous studies have shown a direct relationship between obesity in children and number of hours spent watching television.

More than 60 percent of childhood obesity cases are directly linked to too much television. As hours of viewing increase, so does weight. Surveys have found that the rate of obesity increases 2 percent for each hour of television viewing per day. In contrast, children who reduce their television viewing also gain less weight, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in October 1999.

By limiting the amount of television, video game playing and computer time, children and adolescents should have more time to be active.

What happens when children are in school? A study published in the June 2000 issue of Pediatrics found a direct relationship between amount of time spent in physical education classes and activity among middle school and high school students. The conclusion of the study was similar to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: schools and parents should work together to increase the number and hours of physical education classes and to encourage more activity among students.

When your teenager brings home materials for class registration, encourage them to take a physical education class. If your child is in childcare, make sure the program offers at least 20 minutes of physical activity each day.