Determining Patterns Of Sedentary Behavior And Body Mass Index

Becoming increasingly more active is vital to combating and reducing obesity in children. Healthful, fitness habits, then, must be jumpstarted at institutions where all American children spend mandatory time, such as in a child’s school; evidently, “normal weight children get 16 more minutes of

The accurate assessment of physical activity is necessary to identify current levels of activity and assess the effectiveness of intervention programs. When measuring physical activity, gold standards of assessment include observation, doubly labeled water and indirect calorimetry (Sirard & Pate, 2001). However, pedometers became an increasingly popular measurement device because they are easy to use and do not require specific training, can be used to monitor large groups of people and they provide an objective measurement (Sirard & Pate, 2001). Traditionally, physical activity was measured with surveys that required participants to recall their activity over a period of time. This posed difficulties, especially with children and adolescents,

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Increasing physical activity among youth is an essential component of the broad strategy needed to curb the obesity epidemic” (CITATION). The AAP goes on to encourage different forms of physical activity, whether it’s joining a sport, taking part in extracurricular activities or even participating in gym class and to start this routine from childhood. When experimenting to see the impact that sports and extracurriculars made on a person’s health, they stated, “Our findings supports previous research demonstrating sports were related to substantially lower risk of both overweight/obesity and obesity” (CITATION). While other factors play a big part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, childhood is a crucial point because that’s when the body is nurturing, which is why there should be more budgeting towards helping those who are unable to

You have heard, time and time again, how good exercise is for children. Most children aren’t getting the suggested amount of exercise

As mentioned previously, exercise is seen as one of the cornerstones of a healthy life. A review of 86 scientific papers concerning exercise benefits in school age children, conducted by Janssen and Leblanc, found that children aged 15-17 “should accumulate an average of at least 60 minutes per day and up to several hours of at least moderate intensity physical activity”(Janssen and Leblanc, 1). In fact, even a more modest level of activity would be sufficient in battling health risks, such as

This study analyzed the physical activity levels (PA), moderate-vigorous physical activity levels (MVPA), BMI, and waist circumferences (WC) in 202 (53% male; 47% female) children annually from ages seven to ten. These figures were kept track of in the subjects because “The aim of the present study was to use

The absence of activity and proper rest has been associated with obesity in children, adolescents and adults. Physical activity habits, and, specifically, inactivity, track significantly from adolescence into young adulthood. Because poor children have fewer opportunities for outdoor exercise or organized sports participation, we expect physical activity will mediate the effects of

Due to the rapid increase in childhood weight gain, the threat of obesity to our health, environment, and economy is enormous. According to the Economic Cost of Obesity, “The estimated annual health care costs of obesity – related illness are a staggering $190.2 billion or nearly twenty-one percent of annual medical spending in the United States. Childhood obesity alone is responsible for fourteen billion in direct medical costs." (Economic Costs of Obesity 4) Obese kids tend to become obese adults. According to Alliance for a Healthier generation, one in three children (2-19 years) in the United States is overweight or obese. There is evidence that a child’s environment has a great impact on childhood obesity. Children are being raised

Childhood obesity is one of the most prevelant epidemics plagueing American youth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only 18 percent of all American youth were able to pass the 2008 national fitness standards (A Growing Problem, 2012). This means the vast majority of American youth are incapable of satisfactorally meeting fitness requirements such as completing pushups, running laps in a specific time, and stretching their muscles. According to the CDC, these goals are easily accomplished by any child who gets a total of 1 hour of aerobic exercise daily (A Growing Problem). In fact, that hour of exercise also ensures those same children have greater focus and mental stamina in school and increased immune systems to fight regular diseases.

In an attempt to look at the different results of diet and exercise among children and adults, a study was conducted, in which the subjects self-monitored their progress over a span of twelve months. During this period, different variables were measured, to include urinary Na/K ratio, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and body mass index, to name a few. The outcome of this study shows opposite conclusions for adults and children. Results were found in adults to have positive correlation between diet and the measured variables, whereas children showed no direct correlation. In contrast, adults showed little correlation with exercise,

Along with Skiffy, Heart Disease is also a factor in obesity. Patients with heart disease are more prone to obesity because of physical activity restrictions. Stefen et al found that “children who were of normal weight at baseline became obese after their activity had been restricted”(Babaoğlu et al

To slow this epidemic of childhood obesity, physical activity needs to be put back in these children’s lives.

Physical development consists of body and brain growth, health issues, and motor skills. Researchers say that American children are not getting enough exercise, and over the last few decades, children who are at risk for being obese has increased. During the middle childhood stage in my life, I lacked physical activity. My exercise consisted simply from PE. I did not experience any injuries or major accidents that I am aware of. As a child, my diet consisted of traditional Mexican dishes, very high in calories. Although my diet was not very healthy during middle childhood I was in fact very slim. I did not have any illnesses that impacted my physical development. Researchers say that increasing the physical activity has positive outcome, reason why I attempt to exercise regularly and eat healthy now.

There are various barriers that hinder the improvement of children’s sedentary lifestyle. Consequently, it is important to identify these barriers to facilitate a healthy atmosphere for our children. Even though sedentary behavior usually keeps children in the safety of their homes, sedentary lifestyles can cause serious health problems and must be stopped. Environmental and social barriers/factors can prevent or minimize the access to outside physical activity like hiking, biking, running, etc., targeted advertisement makes eating unhealthy food and promotes games that require very little physical activity, and friend and family behaviors can influence the children to adopt unhealthy sedentary behaviors. These barriers can lead to obesity, heart disease, and death, just to name a few.

In today’s society children are increasingly becoming less active. Lack of physical activity in childhood leads to obesity, can increase one’s risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis, and poor health status. Physical inactivity also increases one’s risk for dying prematurely, dying of heart disease, and colon cancer. Technology and video games have become a major factor in this and have seemed to take over and control lives of many children. Less children are involved with sports and few play outside. The lack of physical activity as a child, can pay huge dividends in the child’s health, into his/her adulthood.