Current trends in youth activity…

If you were to compare the youth of today to that of 10, 20 or even 30 years ago, you will observe that they aren’t as active as they used to be.
Reports indicate that the current guidelines for activity aren’t being met by the majority of youth, resulting in declining levels of cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal fitness.
Guidelines set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are 60-minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day for 5-17-year olds. With a recent addition of 3 days of resistance training to be included alongside aerobic exercise.

There are multiple factors that contribute to this decline in activity; (8)

• Technology advancements have led to less playing and working outside
• Compulsory hours of physical education at schools are on the decline
• Free play in suburban settings is reduced due to safety concerns
• Lack of funding for equipment and facilities

As a result, children are becoming weaker, heavier, and slower than their peers from previous generations. (12)

In the 1980’s a study shown the average amount of modified pull-ups for a 6-9-year-old was 6-10 repetitions, whereas present day findings show this has dropped dramatically to 2-4 repetitions.
Deficiencies have also been shown in the bent arm hang, grip strength, and sit-up test.
New trends in current adolescents show an increase in physical, psychosocial, and cognitive health issues. These effects from an inactive childhood can follow on to a lifetime of preventable disease throughout adulthood.

It’s estimated that billions of dollars in direct medical costs and lost productivity could potentially be saved by a modest increase in the proportion of you participating in moderate to vigorous physical per day.
Low levels of muscular strength during the growing years will not only affect a child’s health and fitness levels, but also social, economic, and political processes due to health care concerns.