Today’s Kids Less Fit Than Their Parents Were

If today’s children had to run 10 miles (presumably uphill, in the snow) to school every day, chances are they’d arrive later than their parents’ generation would have — and they might not make it to school. That’s because children today are less fit than their parents were.

A world-wide study of 25 million children revealed today’s kids can run neither as fast nor as far as children 30 years ago could. On average, it takes 90 more seconds for today’s kids to run one mile. The reasons behind this decline in heart-related fitness include unsafe neighborhoods, more time spent watching TV and playing video games, and less time dedicated to physical activity, both in school and outside of school. Only one-third of American children get the recommended hour of moderately vigorous exercise every day.

“We are currently facing the most sedentary generation of children in our history,” Sam Kass, White House chef and head of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! program, told the American Heart Association in a speech at the organization’s annual conference.

Read more about the study at The Washington Post.