Dr Kiara Lewis, Head of Division of Health and Wellbeing, specialises in children, physical activity and obesity. Here she comments on a new study which reports that the exercise levels previously thought to decline in adolescence, actually happen long before.
Are children active enough?
A new longitudinal study on children’s physical activity levels claims to debunk the myth that activity levels decline in adolescence, particularly in girls . The researchers followed children from 7 – 15 years of age, measuring their activity levels objectively (using actigraphs) for 7 days, over 4 time points. The graphs illustrate a gradual decline in activity levels for girls and for boys (not the steep decline at 11/12 years of age as was expected).
There were a small percentage of boys who started off high and maintained this throughout the 8 years and most boys started off higher than girls, but none of the sub-groups followed the generally accepted steep decline in activity in adolescence.
It is estimated that children now expend approximately 600 Kcal/day less than children did 50 years ago (Boreham & Riddoch, 2010). Activity levels are thought to peak around age 4-5 years and then gradually decline until adolescence when it has been widely held that the reduction is steeper (Hills, King & Armstrong, 2007). The authors of the latest study suggest that this view has been supported by mainly subjective measures of physical activity (self-report) and much of the data precedes the increase in access to sedentary ‘electronic’ pursuits that many children now engage in, and has led us to believe that only adolescent girls are at high risk of inactivity.
Physical activity, not only provides positive health outcomes whilst a child, and into adulthood but also impacts on the child’s cognitive and emotional development meaning that physically active children learn better at school
The latest study, whilst providing useful data on how active (or not) children are does not tell us why. Research I have undertaken with children and young people tries to understand what it is about physical activity that encourages or puts them off. The interviews and focus groups I have conducted suggest that children want to take part in activities at a young age which are fun and rely on imaginative play (rather than competitive sport) and they want to feel part of and liked by those they are being active with. Older children want physical activity to meet their personal needs (whatever they may be) and to not feel out of place or incapable when exercising with their friends. The results of my research suggest that the psycho-social environment we create for children to be active is the most important factor
Knowledge exchange networks such as the recently formed YOHPAKE are bringing researchers and physical activity providers together to bridge the gap between research and practice so that we can together tackle the alarming levels of both child/adolescent and adult physical activity.
- You can read more on the story on the BBC News website.
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