Play is Good For Children (Really!)

09/08/2006

Play is Good For Children (Really!)

Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
Mary Oliver

A study in the July issue of the British medical journal makes, "the most convincing case yet for the benefits of children being active. They say the research may lead to new guidelines saying youngsters between ages 5 and 16 need to be active up to 1.5 hours per day" (Cheng, 2006). According to lead author Dr. Lars Bo Andersen, "just making sure children play outside will double the amount of physical activity they get."

Anderson and colleagues analyzed data from 1,732 nine- and15-year-old children in three European countries, after monitoring them for four consecutive days. They used a small machine attached to the children's hips that recorded accelerations in bodily movements.

The benefits of physical activity were consistent. The more "active children had healthier numbers for blood pressure, cholesterol, and insulin. The study found that the benefits of physical activity applied to all children" (Cheng, 2006), not just those overweight and thought to be at higher risk.

This seems to prove that outdoor play has benefits beyond maintaining teachers' mental health, and may lead to a reconsideration of physical activity guidelines.

Maria Cheng's brief summary of this study is available by CLICKING HERE

For the full article, see:
Andersen, L. B., Harro, M., Sardinha, L. B., Froberg, K., Ekelund, U., Brage, S., Anderssen, S. A. (22 July 2006). "Physical activity and clustered cardiovascular risk in children: a cross-sectional study" (The European Youth Heart Study). The Lancet, 368 (9532): 299-304.

Contributed by Michael Kalinowski

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