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[entremet]

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/no-u-s-kids-fit-world-article-1.2827003

Cue the sad trombone. America’s kids ranked 47 out of 50 countries measuring aerobic fitness — a key factor for overall health — in a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. By comparison, Tanzania, Iceland, Estonia, Norway and Japan raced away with the top five slots. The least fit country: Mexico.

Research teams from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the University of North Dakota analyzed data on more than 1.1 million kids aged 9 to 17. Subjects were evaluated using a multi-stage fitness test also known as the “beep” test. How it works: You run back and forth between two points 66 feet apart to synchronized beeps. The point where you can’t reach the line before the beep, that’s your level.

Why do you think this is?

Helicopter parenting and lack outdoor lifestyles? Car culture which limits mobility? The reduction of PE classes to fit more teach to test classes?

Canada is 19, btw. What are you doing North America?!

More info:
http://blogs.und.edu/uletter/2016/0...-study-of-childrens-fitness-across-the-globe/

 

[Kozak]

Too much football and not enough soccer I reckon

 

[teruterubozu]

Obese parents.

 

[Pankratous]

Definitely nothing to do with the fact that a small meal in America is larger than a large in the UK, nope.

 

[True Savior]

Income inequality and food (these two are already very connected though).

 

[Mental Atrophy]

Take a drive down any major street and it becomes immediately apparent. Accessibility to inexpensive, on-demand, Calorie-dense foods is incredible. How it got this way, I'm not sure, but when I was living in Europe this difference stood out to me.

I also read a report a few months ago that showed how kids today spend more time with their parents than they did fifty years ago. Unsupervised play used to be pretty common, at parks and riding bikes through the neighborhood and what not. I wonder if today's parents' irrational fears about kidnapping and pedophilia, a product of the American news media, has had a tertiary effect on fitness.

 

[Robiin]

Portion sizes.
Not cooking homemade meals.
Parents don't exercise and therefore do not teach their kids to exercise.

 

[entremet]

Definitely nothing to do with the fact that a small meal in America is larger than a large in the UK, nope.

America kids are actually becoming less obese. This study was about overall fitness.

But being overweight or obese can be a detriment as well. I agree with you there.

 

[andythinkpad]

Income inequality and food (these two are already very connected though).

Low carb food is not that expensive.

 

[Kill3r7]

Low carb food is not that expensive.

But it can be hard to access in certain areas of the country.

 

[SirRattleBalls]

Gosh I'm trying to get access to the full report but it blocked behind a paywall, only other information i can find are the small extracts of information from the professionals. Just want to see where the UK sits in that list.

 

[entremet]

Low carb food is not that expensive.

Here we go with the carbophobia lol.

I can assure that the kids in those fit countries eat tons of carbs. Japan loves their rice for example.

Blaming carbs is way too simplistic of analysis here.

 

[paradise_circus]

top 3 demolishes the rest

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Low carb food is not that expensive.

Going around and telling people to just avoid carbs isnt helping either.

Most american kids have absolutely no idea how many calories they need, or how macros work. They just eat whats in front of them, which is usually fast food or snacks, And they dont work out.

 

[andythinkpad]

Here we go with the carbophobia lol.

I can assure that the kids in those fit countries eat tons of carbs. Japan loves their rice for example.

Blaming carbs is way too simplistic of analysis here.

No but how about taking responsibility yourself. Whatever the fuck diet you preach for is not hard to find.

 

[Ratrat]

But it can be hard to access in certain areas of the country.

So wouldn't it be cheaper to eat an average portion of bad food than a lot?

 

[Skyr]

Low carb food is not that expensive.

I think it's more portion size and overall caloric density of american food rather than just carbs.

 

[Kthulhu]

I don't know how it got this way, but I think we should teach children how to eat healthy and exercise at an early age and in highschool. The amount of people I see who know nothing about health and fitness is staggering. Plus, there are plenty of people who push fake diets and supplements like Doctor Oz.

People really should talk to their doctors about getting healthy. I'm kinda surprised the obesity epidemic is getting worse considering all the health and fitness related business that have been popping up.

 

[Langdon Alger]

They're sitting on their asses playing vidya games all day and huge portion sizes have become a part of normal culture.

 

[spliced]

Greedy corrupt politicians. It's a major health crisis and how much priority does it ever get in debates or on the news.

Blame & bootstraps. People would rather insult people than try to find solutions.

 

[zoukka]

You might think it's about low-carbs and hi-proteins, but it's actually about the lack of good fibers in your diet.

 

[rainsten]

this should change when you guys have Trump in office

 

[entremet]

No but how about taking responsibility yourself. Whatever the fuck diet you preach for is not hard to find.

But these are kids? I get the ethic of personal responsibility for adults, but kids are a the mercy of parent's choices.

 

[andythinkpad]

I don't know how it got this way, but I think we should teach children how to eat healthy and exercise at an early age and in highschool. The amount of people I see who know nothing about health and fitness is staggering. Plus, there are plenty of people who push fake diets and supplements like Doctor Oz.

People really should talk to their doctors about getting healthy. I'm kinda surprised the obesity epidemic is getting worse considering all the health and fitness related business that have been popping up.

How it got this way? Letting the powerful corn and food industry put glaring holes in the national health policy is how it got this way.

 

[Jake.]

american servings are fucking huge.

 

[andythinkpad]

But these are kids? I get the ethic of personal responsibility for adults, but kids are a the mercy of parent's choices.

Yes I agree, and I was referring to the parents.

 

[jb1234]

Portion sizes are ridiculous. People often don't realize just how many calories they're eating. And yeah, other factors like car culture certainly don't help.

 

[Alx]

Here we go with the carbophobia lol.

I can assure that the kids in those fit countries eat tons of carbs. Japan loves their rice for example.

Blaming carbs is way too simplistic of analysis here.

I'm always surprised at that strong opposition to carbs in such discussions, when they're usually the base ingredient of most traditional meals in countries where health isn't so much an issue.
Made me look into Tanzanian cuisine anyway, and it doesn't seem to be poor on carbs either :

Some typical mainland Tanzanian foods include wali (rice), ugali (maize porridge), chapati (a kind of bread), nyama choma (grilled meat), mshikaki (marinated beef), samaki (fish), pilau, biriyani, and ndizi-nyama (plantains with meat).

 

[bman94]

I didn't have PE at all in Middle School and High School (by choice, since it interfered with some performing arts classes) and I was a pretty plump kid growing up.

It wasn't until I got to college and being in a college Marching Band that I got the true idea of fitness and being somewhat healthy. I lost a ton of weight my freshman year in college and I felt great.

 

[entremet]

I'm always surprised at that strong opposition to carbs in such discussions, when they're usually the base ingredient of most traditional meals in countries where health isn't so much an issue.
Made me look into Tanzanian cuisine anyway, and it doesn't seem to be poor on carbs either :

I think it's because some of the most fattening foods in America are carb centric--Soda, burgers and fries, pizza, fatty mexican food with fried tortilla shells, Take-Out Chinese.

But we're ignoring that those foods also have tons of calorie and a lot of fat too. Fat isn't the boogeyman is should be, but it is calorie dense, and unless you have sky high calorie requirements, like a pro athlete, those extra calories will be stored as fat.

But if you compare that to the simple carb centric dishes of slimmer populations, it's a world of difference.

 

[Drazgul]

Portion sizes are ridiculous. People often don't realize just how many calories they're eating. And yeah, other factors like car culture certainly don't help.

Ding ding ding. Way too many people are conditioned to eat until they feel "full".

 

[Dazza]

Just in case anyone is interesting in knowing the full list

1. Tanzania (by fricken miles)
2. Iceland
3. Estonia
4. Norway
5. Japan
6. Denmark
7. Czech Republic
8. Finland
9. Cote d'lvoire
10. Morocco
11. France
12. Lithuania
13. Benin
14. Djibouti
15. Mauritius
16. Slovakia
17. Germany
18. Senegal
19. Canada
20. Turkey
21. UK
22. Poland
23. Suriname
24. Belgium
25. China
26. Sweden
27. Austria
28. Netherlands
29. Spain
30. South Africa
31. Switzerland
32. Uganda
33. Seychelles
34. Columbia
35. Australia
36. Hungary
37. Italy
38. Hong Kong
39. Chile
40. Argentina
41. Philippines
42. Greece
43. Portugal
44. Brazil
45. Cyprus
46. Republic of Korea
47. USA
48. Latvia
49. Peru
50. Mexico

 

[negreenfield]

Being a parent I think the blame is in a ton of places but my guess the top two reasons are sugary drinks and lack of exercise.

 

[MANUELF]

Of course Mexico would be last Of course

 

[Jasup]

My first question would be, how do children travel to school/other activities?
Children need more than 60min of physical activity a day. If you don't have a built environment where walking/cycling to school or just playing outside isn't a viable option, that is hard to accomplish. Even in PE classes and sports clubs the amount of real activity is much less than what the allocated hours would suggest as much time is used in instruction and other things.

Second question: How long are the recesses between classes in school and what do children do during them?

Is playing or doing sports with friends possible within short proximity of the home, where children can go independently?

If you have the right environment, the children will get more than enough physical activity every day. Mostly because that's what children do; run around, play and explore their surroundings. And that is one important factor in overall fitness I believe.

 

[Drazgul]

Of course Mexico would be last Of course

It's that darn delicious cane sugar coke.

 

[RocknRola]

Just in case anyone is interesting in knowing the full list

1. Tanzania (by fricken miles)
2. Iceland
3. Estonia
4. Norway
5. Japan
6. Denmark
7. Czech Republic
8. Finland
9. Cote d'lvoire
10. Morocco
11. France
12. Lithuania
13. Benin
14. Djibouti
15. Mauritius
16. Slovakia
17. Germany
18. Senegal
19. Canada
20. Turkey
21. UK
22. Poland
23. Suriname
24. Belgium
25. China
26. Sweden
27. Austria
28. Netherlands
29. Spain
30. South Africa
31. Switzerland
32. Uganda
33. Seychelles
34. Columbia
35. Australia
36. Hungary
37. Italy
38. Hong Kong
39. Chile
40. Argentina
41. Philippines
42. Greece
43. Portugal
44. Brazil
45. Cyprus
46. Republic of Korea
47. USA
48. Latvia
49. Peru
50. Mexico

Damn, Portugal is 43. Too much presunto and leitão I guess.

 

[Lexxism]

$1 fastfood

 

[Haloid1177]

If that were true how did we win the Olympics so easily?

Checkmate, fitness experts.

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

 

[Alx]

One of the surprising things in that list is the difference between Latvia (third to last) and Estonia (third). I'm not familiar with either country, but since they're close neighbours, I wouldn't have expected such a difference.

 

[DudeWithNoName]

Obese parents.

Yep. The shit diet that many here consume makes me sad. At the grocery store you walk by group huge parents trailed by obese kids. Their cart filled with all sorts of garbage like frozen pizzas, colorful cereal, juices, soda, boxed meals, etc. Nary a vegetable or fresh protein in sight.

 

[Ratrat]

Surprised at Korea being that low. Its the Asian beauty/cosmestic surgery capital.

 

[entremet]

Surprised at Korea being that low. Its the Asian beauty/cosmestic surgery capital.

It's a fitness assessment not a beauty one

 

[mnz]

top 3 demolishes the rest

Such a difference between Latvia and Estonia makes me question this study a little bit. They are also tiny countries, so maybe it's more accurate about bigger ones.

 

[Dancing Queen]

Just in case anyone is interesting in knowing the full list

Where's the full list? Or the link of the study itself? Can't find it.

 

[Ratrat]

It's a fitness assessment not a beauty one

Their beauty standards aren't like Mexicos for sure. I'm just surprised given Japan is near the top. If men are superficial enough to wear makeup amd get surgery there, on top serving in the milliatary for a few years, I would think they'd be pretty fit.

 

[Dazza]

Where's the full list? Or the link of the study itself? Can't find it.

https://www.researchgate.net/profil...te_results/links/57e3592c08ae52ba52cb2b1d.pdf

 

[Rektash]

I guess this can be mostly attributed to american food culture. I mean, just look at GAF and the internet in general.

The way people celebrate new menu items of fast food chains like big events is pretty disturbing. Or the bacon cult. Or the grease meat "epic" youtube channels.

Fat people are people who aren't fit. America has lots of fat people because of said food culture.

 

[SamVimes]

Their beauty standards aren't like Mexicos for sure. I'm just surprised given Japan is near the top. If men are superficial enough to wear makeup amd get surgery there, on top serving in the milliatary for a few years, I would think they'd be pretty fit.

This is mostly about children. Even then, in many countries (not sure about Korea) being really muscular is considered attractive and fit but it's not really gonna help you in an aerobic test. There are guys that look fit but get winded after a flight of stairs.