In a study (Children’s cardiovascular fitness declining worldwide) released by the American Heart Association this week and led by Australian researcher Grant Tomkinson of the University of South Australia’s School of Health Sciences stated that our kids are in bad shape compared to their parents at the same age. Worldwide, fitness levels have declined by an average of 5% for each decade from 1964 t0 2010. And in the United States it’s been a 6% decrease each decade.
The study went onto say that when compared to youngsters 30 years ago, there’s been a 90 second decrease in the mile run with today’s kids. While there’s a number of factors involved in this, both diet and exercise differences stand out. A great many kids today suffer from Type 2 Diabetes when it was rare in the past. The fat mass has increased significantly and is probably the main reason we’ve seen such a drastic decline in fitness.
Kids are eating a lot more junk food and sugars and less whole foods and veggies. Physical education classes in many schools have been eliminated in favor of ensuring kids pass standardized tests. While our educational system may believe that passing tests are going to help make kids smarter, it won’t.
When physical health declines, so does cognitive thinking and creativity. Until and unless we bring back a focus on how to truly increase intelligence, then our nation and the world are going to suffer big time. Obesity leads to smaller brains. Kids need to eat healthy and engage in regular physical activity. Grant Tomkinson stated, “They need to choose a range of physical activities they like or think they might like to try, and they need to get moving.” Movement is critical.
I am challenging both parents and our school systems to institute fitness back into their lives. If you don’t then we all will suffer. Let’s get all of us off our duff and set the example for our kids. Let’s make fitness fun for them and not torture. Heck, when I was young it was all about going outside and playing. We need more of that. DO IT!
Cheers,
Bob Choat
America’s #1 Mind-Body Transformation Expert and author of Mind Your Own Fitness