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School
Activity areas do not boost exercise
Most
middle schools have physical activity areas -- but few students visit
these areas outside of physical education classes, and many of those
who do visit just "hang out" rather than exercise, report California
researchers.
With teen obesity levels rising, the finding suggests that a valuable
opportunity to encourage kids to exercise at school is being lost.
More structured programs and supervision to encourage more physical
activity could help, the study authors report.
The research team investigated the physical activity levels of boys
and girls over a 20-week period in 24 Southern California middle schools
(grades 6 through 8). The researchers used a system called SOPLAY
(System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth) to assess
the physical activity of individual students during sports and leisure
activities.
Each of the schools studied had enrollments of over 1,000 students.
One hundred fifty-one areas -- including swimming pools, weight rooms,
gymnasiums, and outdoor play areas and court spaces -- were targeted
for observation by certified SOPLAY assessors. These target areas
were observed before and after school and at lunchtime.
In their report, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, Dr.
Thomas L. McKenzie from San Diego State University in California and
colleagues note that even during lunchtime, only about 30% of boys
and 8% of girls visited physical activity areas at their school. More
boys than girls used activity areas, and boys were more physically
active than girls before school and at lunchtime.
But the most prominent activity observed in both sexes was "no identifiable
sport, game, or exercise." Of games played, basketball was the most
common sport played by either sex.
"The pressing need for interventions to increase leisure-time physical
activity at multiple settings including schools is demonstrated by
the rising prevalence of youth obesity, the multiple health problems
associated with physical inactivity during youth, and the high proportion
of young people who do not meet health-related physical activity guidelines,"
McKenzie's team concludes.
Dr. Jay Noffsinger, professor of pediatrics and head of pediatric
sports medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri,
is concerned about the level of fitness in middle schoolers. "This
study produced some pretty appalling results that are not at all surprising,"
Noffsinger stated. "Kids in the age group studied don't take the opportunities
they are offered to participate in physical activities."
"Prepubertal children are innately aerobically fit, but during early
adolescence that fitness starts to decline rapidly," he explained.
"At that point, young adolescents have to engage in regular aerobic
activity to not lose fitness. Unfortunately, that usually doesn't
happen."
"Today, free play is a safety issue, and the middle school environment
is often more safe for physical activity and sports than outdoor play
at home. School facilities are available, but they are not being used.
It makes sense to encourage adolescents to be more active in the school
setting, where participating in sports and games is safe," Noffsinger
recommended.
Reference
Source 46,89
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