Diabetic children less active than obese children without the condition

In yet another study that proves children need to be more active, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh (UP) found a disturbing trend.

Kids and teenagers who were overweight with type 2 diabetes were found to be even less active than another group of obese children without diabetes.

How much activity is enough?

Study author Andrea Kriska, PhD, of the Department of Epidemiology at the UP, wanted to understand just how much physical activity overweight children and teens were getting--and how this related to whether or not the young people had diabetes.

The study group of diabetic children and teens included just under 700 participants, ages 10 to 17, who were compared to another 312 children and teens of the same age without the condition.

The average BMI in the first group was in the 85th percentile or higher, while the second group averaged a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher.

Results: Kids do too much sitting

Using devices that tracked their activity, children in both groups were found to be getting less exercise than they needed. But diabetic children were found to be significantly less active than the other children--sitting about an hour more than the kids in the other group each day.

Diabetic boys in the 10-14 age range were found to get about 35 minutes a day of moderate to hard physical activity, while those in the 15 to 18 age range got even less--only about 25 minutes per day.

Diabetic girls got even less exercise, with an average of 27 minutes for 10 to 14-year-olds and 8 minutes for 15 to 18-year-olds.

The researchers say that overweight children and teens--especially those already diagnosed with diabetes--should be encouraged to exercise more and decrease the amount of time spent sitting, such as during activities like playing video games or watching television.

The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.

Source: Daily rX