Certain studies’ findings often serve as powerful reminders of things we already know. However, the true impact lies in what we choose to do with this information.
A recently published report revealed that children in good physical health are more inclined to develop into adolescents with improved mental well-being and cognitive abilities, per U.S. News & World Report.
This is important to keep in mind as approximately 1 out of every 5 teenagers experience symptoms of anxiety or depression, as indicated by a KFF examination of a recent national survey on adolescent well-being.
A study published in Sports Medicine states that “Up to 25–30% of adolescents experience impaired mental health, and a third of adolescents have been estimated to be at risk of developing clinical depression.”
“While physical fitness has been identified as an important determinant of general health, today’s youth face challenges with low levels of physical fitness potentially compromising their cognition and elevating the risk of mental health problems,” continues the study.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that kids aged 6 and above engage in 60 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week, adding “any physical activity counts towards the goal of 60 minutes a day. But most of that time should be moderate to vigorous activity (activity that makes your heart beat faster, gets you breathing harder, or makes you sweat). Some activities in the week should be activities that build muscle, like climbing or jumping.”
However, “only 20% to 28% of 6- to 17-year-olds meet the 60 minutes of daily physical activity recommended by the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans,” according to the ‘2024 United States Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.’
American children and youth have received a D- grade for meeting the recommended physical activity level.
We could have already surmised this by looking at how many kids have their faces glued to a screen.
“Children ages 8-10 spend around 6 hours per day in front of a screen. That number increases with age, as children 11-14 spend about 9 hours a day on screens, and teenagers 15-18 have an average screen time of 7.5 hours,” per 2024 screen time statistics by SlickText.
“In young adults, phone usage is up by 60-80% more than pre-pandemic levels,” per SlickText.
“In our research, we found that kids were spending a lot less time outside,” said Ruslan Slutsky, an education professor at the University of Toledo, to Vox.
“They were spending a lot less time in traditional forms of play because they were playing with devices,” added Slutsky.