Health: Children Move Less Starting at Age 6/Story: Velveteen Rabbit.

Children Move Less Starting at Age 6 By age 11, Children were spending an average of almost two more hours a day in sedentary behavior than they were at 6 Most experts believe that physical activity declines as children reach adolescence, but a new study has found that the decline begins as early as age 6. Researchers measured physical activity at ages 6, 8 and 11 in 600 European children wearing arm band activity trackers. After adjusting for body mass index, the scientists found that average time spent in physical activity declined by about 75 minutes a day by the time the children were 11. Light physical activity declined by 45 minutes a day, and moderate to vigorous activity, which remained steady until age 8, declined an average of 31 minutes a day by age 11. The study, in Pediatrics, found that at age 11, the children were spending an average of almost two more hours a day in sedentary behavior — essentially, sitting still — than they were at 6. Only 63 percent of 11-year-olds were getting the recommended 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous exercise, compared with 82 percent of 6-year-olds. Boys got more moderate to vigorous exercise than girls, and girls more light activity than boys, but the overall decline in exercise was sharper in boys. By Nicholas Bakalar https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/well/move/children-move-less-starting-at-age-6.html Story: Velveteen Rabbit. by Margaret Williams - part 2