Strength Training Needed In School Fitness Programs
Nutrition experts say school fitness programs may not be doing enough to keep kids from becoming overweight.
For the most part, school fitness programs emphasize exercise, but fail to focus on strength training and the importance of nutritional balance as a part of staying in shape.
Frederick Hahn, co-founder of the National Council for Exercise Standards, has authored a new book titled "Strong Kids, Healthy Kids."
Hahn told Reuters that school fitness programs for kids are “wrong-headed.”
"Strength training is exercise ‘concentrate.’ You can use a lot less of it," he said.
Hahn envisions school gyms containing more exercise machines and dumbbells to be used instead of the current approach of low intensity aerobic exercise.
The use of these machines along with a balanced low-carbohydrate diet is the best way to keep kids in shape, Hahn said, adding that physical activity alone is not enough to curb obesity.
According to a recent study, school fitness programs do not appear to be doing enough to keep kids in shape. Additionally, these programs are not influencing children to take part in more activities outside of school, said Dr. Maureen Dobbins, of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.
“Other activities are needed," said Dobbins.
Dobbins led a team of researchers who reviewed 26 previous studies of school activity programs for 6-to-18-year olds in North America, South America, Australia, and Europe. Their findings are published on the Cochrane Library online edition.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of obesity among children between ages 6 to 11 has more nearly tripled in 20 years ““ from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 17 percent in 2006. Additionally, the obesity rate among adolescents aged 12 to 19 has more than tripled.
"There is no change in body composition without strength training," Dr. Wayne Westcott, fitness research director for the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, told Reuters.
"I think strength training is the missing component in our school programs."
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