Your Kids Aren’t Getting Exercise By Playing – Study Shows

Recent studies have shown that preschool children are not active when playing.

Even when playing outside, children tend to play in a sedentary way.

Researchers also noticed that teachers and other supervisors tend to not encourage children to play more actively.

This is of serious concern for those worried about the health of their children, since children spend on average 5 to 6 hours engaged in sedentary activities.

Obesity among children

Childhood obesity will likely lead to obesity in adulthood, since few obese individuals manage to lose weight. Also, obese children have a higher likelihood of developing diabetes.

Doctors have reported a surge of adolescents with Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes and obesity in general can lead to health disorders such as heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, stroke and blindness.

In addition to limiting what kids eat, parents should do what they can to encourage their kids to exercise.

Benefits of exercise in children

Kids actually need good physical activity than adults. On average, experts recommend that children engage in 1-2 hours of exercise a day. Kids who exercise have stronger muscles and bones like adults.

Kids who exercise can lower their risk of diabetes and blood pressure. But, even many adults find exercise boring, it might be very challenging to get kids to want to exercise. One of the easiest ways to get your child to exercise is to encourage your child to play a sport.

If your kid is not the sporting type, bicycling and walking can still be fun as long as you can see where your kid is going.

You should also encourage your kids to engage in stretching activities so that they can remain flexible.

Fight sedentary activities

The average child spends 5 and a half hours engaged in some type of media activity. Young children should not be engaged in a sedentary activity for longer than one hour. Be sure to schedule time in the day for physical activity.

Encourage healthier behaviors like taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Be sure to keep exercise fun . Be sure to keep exercise activities diverse. Most importantly, encourage healthier activities in general.

Just remember that kids have a tendency to fatigue more quickly and they need more water in order to avoid becoming overheated.

How to make exercise fun?

One of the best ways to make exercise fun is to plan exercise activities that can be done in groups. Try to keep exercise varied because children get bored very quickly.

Also, try to vary the locations at which you exercise. Try different trails, parks and fields.

Try to get your kids to invite friends along. Sure, it’s a big responsibility to watch over so many children, but kids are more likely to have a good time if their friends are brought with them.