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| This shows an average 12-13 year old boy jumping on a trampoline. This is a very good source of exercise for the average teen. |
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| Instead of being outside in that bright shining weather, this boy is sitting inside eating junk food, while watching TV. |
By: Libby Graalum
Do teens and Tweens of modern America watch too much tv compared to going outside? At a percentage of 33 of american children that are obese, it is not very uncommon for there to be an overweight kid in every other household. One of the factors for the obesity of the kids, is the exercise of the youth. The average exercise rate for an average 12-13 year old girl and boy is 1 hour a day. In a recent study, only 35% of tweens run, walk, do a sport, etc. for that an hour a day. The other 65% say they get 3-4 hours a week or 25-35 minutes a day. By only exercising only half the average time, the kids are only burning half the calories they consume (about 1800-2000 calories for girls ages 12-13 and 2000-2300 for boys the same age). This causes the body to save the calories as fat cells. If the child continues to not exercise as needed, they will become overweight.
"I normally watch TV about 45 minutes every week (Monday to Friday)." Says 12 year old Eva Driscoll. "And I work out about 30-45 minutes everyday."
But some kids that are unlike Eva, don't workout as much as her. Instead of exercising or playing outside with a friend of pet, most kids sit inside, and watch their favorite shows on the TV. If it couldn’t get any worse, some kids sit down and watch TV or movies after they eat a big meal or sitting in front of the TV while eating. When you eat this way, you aren't paying attention to what you are eating so you might eat too much. When the calories should be getting used by exercising, they are just sitting in your body waiting to be used. But if the energy from your food is not used soon enough, it will build up as fat.
Do teens and Tweens of modern America watch too much tv compared to going outside? At a percentage of 33 of american children that are obese, it is not very uncommon for there to be an overweight kid in every other household. One of the factors for the obesity of the kids, is the exercise of the youth. The average exercise rate for an average 12-13 year old girl and boy is 1 hour a day. In a recent study, only 35% of tweens run, walk, do a sport, etc. for that an hour a day. The other 65% say they get 3-4 hours a week or 25-35 minutes a day. By only exercising only half the average time, the kids are only burning half the calories they consume (about 1800-2000 calories for girls ages 12-13 and 2000-2300 for boys the same age). This causes the body to save the calories as fat cells. If the child continues to not exercise as needed, they will become overweight.
But, why aren't kids getting the proper amount of exercise for their age? One of the many distractions is the very common in an average American house. They can range from 1-5 in a single house of a family of 4. It is in fact, the humble television. From comedy to drama, anything is on the TV. As asked by some seventh grade boys and girls, some very common shows include:
- Glee
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Phineas and Ferb
- Psych
- Vampire Diaries
- Secret life of an American Teenager
- Big Bang Theory
"I normally watch TV about 45 minutes every week (Monday to Friday)." Says 12 year old Eva Driscoll. "And I work out about 30-45 minutes everyday."
But some kids that are unlike Eva, don't workout as much as her. Instead of exercising or playing outside with a friend of pet, most kids sit inside, and watch their favorite shows on the TV. If it couldn’t get any worse, some kids sit down and watch TV or movies after they eat a big meal or sitting in front of the TV while eating. When you eat this way, you aren't paying attention to what you are eating so you might eat too much. When the calories should be getting used by exercising, they are just sitting in your body waiting to be used. But if the energy from your food is not used soon enough, it will build up as fat.
"What if my favorite show is on but I have to go outside or exercise?". This is a frequently asked question for seventh grades with no after school sport. If you have cable TV and you have the ability to record shows, you can ask your parents if you can record your show to watch after you play outside. If your family has an in-home gym (or just a treadmill or elliptical) that has equipment in front of a TV, you can watch a movie or your show on the TV. Another common concern is "What will I do outside?". Megan Brock (another seventh grader) says, "I normally ask a friend to come over and we just play outside." Having a friend over to jump on your trampoline (if you have one) or playing with a family (or even neighbors) dog is a great source of exercise. If you are unable to do these, ask your parents (or legal guardian) for some ideas or what to do for good exercises at home.
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