Friday, 22 November 2013
Racing Hearts
A recent study has found that the heart rate of children in the UK is on he rise. Since the 1980's the resting heart rate of a group of 9-11 years old was found to have risen by up to 2 beats a minute. Meaning that the next generation of children are at greater risk of suffering from diabetes, and heart disease.
The professionals say that spending too much time watching TV, using PCs, and smartphones, to text and tweet is at the root of the problem.
Another study done in the US, also found that this technology which fills our homes and lives can cause our kids stress, fuelled by lack of sleep and online bullying. Not ignoring, the obesity that sneaks in when we sit around for too many hours.
Therefore it doesn't matter what side of the pond we live on, it's agreed that the technological gadgets that are the must haves for kids, should carry a health warning.
For one set of parents in Nottinghamshire in England, they decided to do something about their two daughters sedentary lifestyle and banned them from watching TV for 12 months. The girls aged 8 and 10 years old, were given 100 outdoor challenges to replace screen time.
The pursuits included, climbing, sailing, kayaking, skiing and according to newspaper reports they loved every minute. So much so, that even although some screen time has been reinstated into their lives, they've now set themselves another set of outdoor challenges for the next year to come.
Tips from the experts for children keeping a healthy heart and body include, limiting screen time, keeping the family active and establish an exercise regime. This family definitely showed us all how to do that.
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