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When I was a kid we spent nearly every waking moment playing games and such OUTSIDE. We didn't have computers or video games to consume our time. Today's kids have a lot of modern devices that keep them inside and static.
How much time should kids be actively playing (exercising) a day or week? The NFL (American National Football League) has an ad campaign (Play-60) that encourages an hour a day of play. Does anyone know if there's any data to support this or any other amount per day?
No. To my knowledge, there is no conclusive amount of exercise for children that is all-encompassing. Realistically, just look at your kids. If they're fat, they need more exercise and less food, providing that there are no other health issues at hand. If they're too skinny (read "too skinny" as "malnourished"), they need more food, once again taking into consideration any health issues they may have.
Just like adults who react differently to different amounts of activity, children react differently to different amounts of activity. There's an article on the New York Times that will offer some little more information, but not a lot.
There are conflicting reports from scared moms associations to killer sergeant coaches that add a lot of misinformation to the mix. I ran across an article by Dr. Lon Kilgore that has some sane guidelines, and while it was written from the perspective of weight training I think it has good implications elsewhere: "Weightlifting for Special Populations: Youth". There's a companion article to this from the same author: "Misconception About Training Youth".
Some of the points raised are:
I left out a number of weightlifting specific guidelines; however, both articles have several supporting studies that are cited. I wanted to focus on the 15 hours per week number.
When you think about it, 15 hours per week is 2 hours and 8.5 minutes every day 7 days a week. If the child only does his/her physical activity during the school week, that's 3 hours per day. That time includes gym, sports activities, rigorous play (pickup games), etc. Granted that number is specifically geared towards kids who are lifting weights, but if the kid is involved in football or another physically demanding sport It's a number worth paying attention to.
The idea is that kids recuperate a lot more quickly than adults, but they still need rest to let the muscles grow and the kids become stronger.
