Telling children to sit still might be a wrong instruction for them. Instead they should be encouraged to keep on moving because inactivity can increase their risk of heart disease, a new study says.
There is no doubt that kids are very active, they play and run around without ceasing energies. For this reason some parents prefer to see their kids behaving and sitting on a chair for hours. Some encourage their children to play video games just to keep them still.
However, doing so might not be healthy for them. Extended periods of inactivity could cause changes in their blood circulation that could increase their risk of heart disease later in life, according to a new study.
According to CNN, researchers worked with a very few sample. Their sample includes nine girls between ages 7 and 10. They measure the blood flow in their legs before and after they spent three hours in beanbag chairs in the lab watching movies and playing video games on their devices. In the same way, they also measured the changes in circulation after a similar three-hour period, except that this time the children are encouraged to exercise for 10 minutes every hour.
They learned that veg-out sessions were associated with a 33 percent decrease in the flexibility of the artery in the thigh, similar to the effect that marathon sitting has been observed among adults. In contrast, there were no changes in the vessel flexibility after the sessions were interrupted by short exercises.
According to Alison McManus, associate professor of pediatric physiology at the University of Columbia, they didn't expect such profound effects to children because they thought they were more resilient to sedentary behavior.
Previous research in adults suggested that long hours of inactivity could increase levels of blood sugar and cholesterol, risk of obesity, heart disease and even premature death. The current study is the first one to examine how sedentary behavior affects the kids physically.
This study is alarming especially that kids nowadays tend to be more glued on computer games. According to The New York Times, a study reported that children across the globe sit for about 8.5 hours everyday. Another study revealed that the activity levels among children dropped sharply when they reached about 8 years old and it continues to fall through adolescence.
"This research suggests that children are not that different from adults in terms of fundamental physiology of the body," said Alan Hedge, a professor of ergonomics at Cornwell University, who was not involved in the study.
Hedge advised children to stand or move for 10 minutes every half hour, even if those in the study only moves 10 minutes every hour.
The study was published in the journal Experimental Physiology on Sept. 15.
