Children should play more

New doctors' prescriptions can make children gloating: They need to be played more to have a healthy body. European experts say the latest study is the most convincing evidence of the benefits of being active.

Children need to play a lot, not just eat reasonably (Photo: dorsetforyou) The study shows that children from 5 to 16 years old need to play for an hour and a half each day. For some parents, it can be done quite simply by having children go out the door.

"Just making sure kids play outside will double their physical activity," said Dr. Lars Bo Andersen, lead researcher in the medical journal Lancet.

Experts say the study does not mean that children need to be running on exercise machines or participating in football federations - they just need to be running around and moving, even in short moments of excitement. .

Andersen and colleagues investigated the association between children's physical activity and risk factors such as heart disease and diabetes. They looked at over 1,700 9-year-olds and 15-year-olds from Denmark, Estonia and Portugal. Their movements are monitored for 4 consecutive days by tying small monitors to the hip.

As a result, despite differences in the three countries, the benefits of physical activity remain constant. The more active a child is, the more beneficial indicators of blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin are available.

"This is much stronger evidence than we had before , " said Nick Cavill, an expert at Oxford University's School of Public Health, a non-researcher.

While much of the attention is focused on the negative diet that leads to childhood obesity, Andersen's study calls for attention to physical activity.

"It would be a mistake to just consider this as a problem of obesity," he said. "A lot of children have metabolic problems without fat . The problem is that they need to play more and reduce sedentary sitting."

But perhaps the biggest factor in promoting children's physical activity is the parents themselves."Not only should children play more, but the whole family. Parents should play a role model," experts said.

T. An