Written by By futurity.org Thursday, 23 August 2012 19:27
 |
Lack of exercise is No. 1 in a top 10 list of health concerns facing kids, according to a survey of adults across the United States.. |
Lack of exercise is No. 1 in a top 10 list of health concerns facing kids, according to a survey of adults across the United States.
The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health offers its annual top 10 list, in which a nationwide sample of adults was asked to identify the top 10 biggest health concerns for kids in their communities.
For the first time, not enough exercise was rated by most adults at the top of the list (39 percent). That was followed closely by childhood obesity (38 percent), and smoking and tobacco use (34 percent).
“Childhood obesity remains a top concern, and adults know it is certainly linked to lack of exercise,” says Matthew M. Davis, director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. “The strong perception that lack of exercise is a threat to children’s health may reflect effective recent public health messages from programs such as First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign.
“But adequate exercise offers many more benefits other than weight loss or preventing obesity—such as better attention and learning in school and improved sense of well-being,” says Davis, associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and associate professor of public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
