With games consoles, televisions and now even smart phones increasingly becoming kids’ first choice for entertainment, it can be hard to motivate them to stay healthy and active.
In fact, researchers in the UK have said that children and adolescents are spending up to eight hours sitting a day.
Dr Dale Esliger from Loughborough University, who presented research at the be active 2012 conference in Sydney recently, said that the amount of time spent sitting increased steadily with age – peaking at 18 years.
However, several experts said that simple changes at home can help make children more active.
Does your child have a television in their bedroom? This is associated with 2.7 times the risk of cardiometabolic problems in youths, said Dr Amanda Staiano from Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
Are they watching more than two hours of television a day? This can lead to an increased risk of obesity, she said.
Keeping your kids active doesn’t need to be a dead-end chore, follow these tips from Raising Children Network to make it a walk in the park – literally.
– Try a range of activities that your child will enjoy and are good at
– Be active yourself and your child will follow
– Take time out to be active with your child – instead of watching TV before dinner, play a game of Frisbee in the garden
– Get your child involved in household chores – not only does it help you, but it will keep them active
– Walk instead of driving wherever possible – you don’t need to do strenuous activity to make a difference
– Encourage your child to take part in organised sports or group lessons such as dancing, swimming or athletics
– Limit TV time
– Organise family activities such as bushwalking or camping.
[The be active 2012 conference, organised by Sports Medicine Australia, was held from October 31- November 3. Over 1,200 people attended to hear global experts discuss the latest research on injury prevention, energy balance, sedentary behaviour in children and more. To find out more, click here.
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