Kids' Sports and Exercise Goals

Parents shouldn't hesitate to involve their children in well-organized, properly-supervised youth sports programs but they should be aware that sports are not all equal in the exercise they provide, according to an accompanying editorial.


Sports probably can't be the only solution to providing young people with the exercise they need, noted editorialists Russell R. Pate, PhD, and Jennifer R. O'Neill, PhD, MPH, both of the University of South Carolina School of Public Health in Columbia.


Gym class, walking or biking to and from school, and informal physical activity outside of school and sports can make up the difference, they suggested.


Indeed, some of the kids in the study may have met their 60 minutes a day through the various means, but that's not something parents should leave to chance, agreed study co-author Jordan Carlson, MA, of San Diego State University, in an interview.


"Our recommendations to parents are to be aware of how much physical activity their kids are getting and not just assume that because kids are at sports practice for a couple of hours that they're getting a couple of hours of physical activity," he warned MedPage Today. "Parents do need to make sure that children have other opportunities."


Youth sports can also be improved to fulfill more of their potential for public health, Sallis' group wrote, pointing out that much of the time kids spend in practice can be inactive, such as waiting for turns or receiving verbal instructions.


The researchers' recommendations included:

• Emphasize participation over competition
• Increase practice frequency
• Extend short seasons
• Use pedometers or accelerometers to monitor physical activity periodically during practices
• Provide coaches with strategies to increase physical activity

"Based on current findings, it appears that youth sports practices are making a less-than-optimal contribution to the public health goals of increasing physical activity and preventing childhood obesity," Sallis' group concluded in the paper.

Primary source: Med page today

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Obesity/23763

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Source reference:
Leek D, et al "Physical activity during youth sports practices" Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med2010; DOI:10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.252. 
 

Additional source: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Source reference:
Pate RR, O'Neill JR "Youth sports programs: Contribution to physical activity" Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2010; DOI:10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.245.