Continuous Decline in Physical Fitness of 10 Year Old Children Worries

In a study of 1,200 children, researchers quantified the gradual decline in physical fitness over the last 16 years. Disturbing figures.

Worried about the lack of physical activity in young children, researchers at the University of Essex (UK) conducted a study to quantify the strength and fitness of 1,200 10-year-old children, between 1998 and 1998 and 2014.

Led by Dr. Gavin Sandercock, the team studied the physical abilities of a group of 315 10-year-old children in 2008 and compared them with a group of 309 children of the same age in 1998 and a group of about 300 children in 2014.

Results: The number of sit-ups that a 10-year-old can do in 30 seconds decreased by 27.1% between 1998 and 2008. If boys were able to perform a little more than 26 sit-ups on average in 30 seconds in 1998, this figure dropped to 19.2 in 2008 and only 15.4 in 2014. For girls, this figure dropped from 23.9 to 10.7 between 1998 and 2014. A significant drop also was found in boys and girls with regard to the grip strength of the arm and hand.

According to Dr. Gavin Sander cock, there has been a 20% decrease in muscle strength and a 30% decrease in muscle endurance in 10-year-olds over the last 16 years.

Nevertheless, the study indicates that the body mass index (BMI) remained relatively stable during the study period, because if the children weigh a little heavier, they are also a little bigger. Evidence that BMI is not such a good indicator of physical health.

While researchers are obviously pointing to the increasing sedentariness of children, who spend less and less time outdoors and more and more time in front of screens, they believe that children's tolerance of discomfort is They are not really used to lifting their own weight, climbing trees, taking risks and surpassing themselves physically.