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Active parents raise active kids
The Agence France Presse English (Thu 22 Nov 2007) reports on the results of a new study published today of more than 5000 10- and 11-year olds, which suggests active parents can, by their example, encourage their children to be physically active, but the effect is less than widely thought. Its findings touch on strategies for reducing diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular conditions and diabetes that are growing at epidemic proportions due mainly to a couch-potato lifestyle. A team of British and US researchers led by Calum Mattocks of the University of Bristol monitored 4,451 children for at least 10 hours a day over three days, tracking the intensity and frequency of their exercise with accelerometers attached to their ankles. The children were also asked to record any time they swam or rode bicycles because the devices do not monitor these activities accurately. The researchers then compared the results against statements provided by the parents on their level of physical activity in several categories. Surprisingly, children of smoking parents tended to be slightly more active physically than kids whose parents were non-smokers.
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