Despite most health organizations advising kids get at least 60-minutes of exercise a day, this study out of University of Alberta suggests that it takes less than a quarter of that time to reap the benefits of exercise.
“”Our research showed children don’t need a lot of intense physical activity to get the health benefits of exercise — seven minutes or more of vigorous physical activity was all that was required,” said researcher Richard Lewanczuk in a Science Daily article. “But the seven minutes had to be intense to prevent weight gain, obesity and its adverse health consequences. And most kids weren’t getting that.”
The study, which monitored the activity of over 600 children 9-17 years of age for a period of seven days, reported that 70% of the children’s time was spent in sedentary behaviour, almost 23 percent in light activity, 6.8 percent in moderate actvity and 0.6 percent in vigorous activity (equivalent to jogging), with boys being more active than girls.
Interstingly, health, fitness and BMI improved with vigorous activity, but not with light or moderate activity, suggesting that for kids at least a brisk walk isn’t enough exercise. It also suggests that kids fitness programs, both in school and out, should be modified to include periods of high intensity exercise.