25% of teens meet U.S. health guidelines
According to the latest fitness data for the country, just 1 in 4 teenagers meet the U.S. health guidelines. The data reflects trends for kids aged 12 to 15 who meet the recommendation of an hour or more of moderate to vigorous activity every day.
The results are based on about 800 kids who self-reported their activity levels and had physical exams as part of the 2012 National Youth Fitness Survey. Government researchers won’t call the results disappointing, but lead author Tala Fakhouri of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, “There’s always room for improvement.”
The CDC released partial results Wednesday from the fitness survey, which involved kids aged 3 to 15. Other results from the same survey are pending and include fitness data based on more objective measures including treadmill tests.
Obese kids were less active than children of normal weight. Overweight girls were slightly less active than normal-weight girls but levels were similar among overweight and normal-weight boys.
Data also suggest obesity may have slightly decreased among some kids but the overall rate for children aged 2 to 19 is 17 percent (roughly 12.5 million obese kids).
Considering the drastic cut in recess in many schools in the country, are the findings surprising?
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