HHS HealthBeat (August 25, 2008)

Get up and play an hour a day?

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Kids need to be physically active at least an hour a day. But are they?

A researcher checked, by having about 1,000 kids wear a device that kept track of their activity.

Philip Nader of the University of California, San Diego says younger kids did well. At age 9, they averaged about three hours a day. But by age 15, they averaged 50 minutes a day during the week and barely more than a half hour a day on weekends.

``The basic take-home message is that kids, just like adults, are getting less and less active as they get older.’’ (7 seconds)

Kids need to be active to control weight and to set healthy habits for adulthood – even just walking.

The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August, 25 2008