Kids should be encouraged to play outside

For Children to be physically fit it is imperative that they play outside after school rather than staying indoors a new study shows.

The study reinforces the fact that outdoors activities are necessary for children to be more active and energetic. The study was conducted at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan on 306 urban youths between 9 and 17 years old.

Kids who reported being outside during most or all of their after-school hours got almost 20 more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per day compared with those who spent most or all of their time indoors, the researchers found. That was after taking into account children’s age, sex and weight and the time of year.

It’s important for students to be outside because when they’re in outdoor spaces, they tend to move more in a moderate-to-vigorous way. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children get at least one hour of moderate-to-vigorous exercise every day however in an article in the in the Journal of Pediatrics very few kids living in developed countries meet those guidelines.

The change in the lifestyle of kids is attributed mainly to the factors like the pervasiveness of videogames and computers as well as changes in the built environment, which includes parks and other green spaces.

The law and order situation in Pakistan and fast disappearing parks is one of the major factors where kids are unable to get involved in outdoor activities.

Looking at the time children spend in school, schools should also emphasize on increasing outdoor activities but then the schools hardly have any grounds or space to provide outdoor activity options to the students.

There were no weight differences between children who spent their time indoors and outdoors, the study found.

Pakistan schools as well as building designs and amenities completely lack provision for outdoor activities which is one of the reason why youth suffer more from diseases than the average.