Immigrant kids exercise less than those born in US
MANILA, Philippines - If you think that US-born children are the quintessential couch potatoes, think again. A new study of close to 70,000 children in the United States suggests that immigrant kids do less exercise than their counterparts.
The Associated Press on Monday said that according to a study of a US government agency, close to 18 percent of foreign-born kids with immigrant parents “got no vigorous exercise on any days of the week, and 56 percent didn’t participate in organized sports."
Among US-born children with American parents, AP quoted the study as saying that “11 percent got no vigorous exercise, and 41 percent didn’t participate in sports."
The study was conducted by a group of researchers led by Dr Gopal Singh of the US Department of Health and Human Services and Child Health Bureau. It analyzed “immigrant differentials" among 68,288 children in the US aged six to 17.
Lifestyle difference
Are the findings in the study have something to do with ethnic and behavioral differences between US-born and immigrant kids?
Researchers claimed the findings might be connected to differences in the kids and their families’ lifestyles.
Immigrant families are poorer than non-immigrants. They live in localities that are less safe than where their counterparts stay. Thus, other than having no time for exercise and sports, immigrant kids probably have also no access to places where they could flex their muscles.
The researchers, according to AP, also found out that for immigrant parents, “inactive pursuits" such as reading and studying were more important than engaging in physical activities.
Hispanic kids
Of the ethnic-immigrant groups studied, Hispanic children — about 22.5 percent — were more physically inactive compared with 9.5 percent of US-born white kids with US-born parents.
The study said that “approximately, 67 percent of Hispanic children did not participate in sports compared with 30 percent of native Asian children."
Results of the study also showed that 13 percent of black immigrants, 10 percent of whites, and seven percent of Asians did not engage in vigorous activities. Meanwhile, 49 percent of blacks, 38 percent of Asians, and 32 percent of whites did not participate in sports.
It further found out that while immigrant kids were not that sporty as their counterparts, “they were…less likely to watch television."
However, as immigrant kids absorb the American lifestyle, including watching TV, the “nativity gap" narrows, according to the study.
Viewing habits
Based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Communications Outlook 2007, the US had the longest daily TV viewing habit of more than eight hours a day among OECD member-countries.
Next is Turkey with five hours, followed by Italy with over four hours.
Households that spent over three hours on the boob tube were Belgium, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Australia, South Korea, and Canada.
Families in Britain and Denmark stayed glued on the box for three hours, while in Finland, Austria, New Zealand, Ireland, Switzerland, and Sweden, households watched TV less than three hours daily. - ARCS, GMANews.TV
The Associated Press on Monday said that according to a study of a US government agency, close to 18 percent of foreign-born kids with immigrant parents “got no vigorous exercise on any days of the week, and 56 percent didn’t participate in organized sports."
Among US-born children with American parents, AP quoted the study as saying that “11 percent got no vigorous exercise, and 41 percent didn’t participate in sports."
The study was conducted by a group of researchers led by Dr Gopal Singh of the US Department of Health and Human Services and Child Health Bureau. It analyzed “immigrant differentials" among 68,288 children in the US aged six to 17.
Lifestyle difference
Are the findings in the study have something to do with ethnic and behavioral differences between US-born and immigrant kids?
Researchers claimed the findings might be connected to differences in the kids and their families’ lifestyles.
Immigrant families are poorer than non-immigrants. They live in localities that are less safe than where their counterparts stay. Thus, other than having no time for exercise and sports, immigrant kids probably have also no access to places where they could flex their muscles.
The researchers, according to AP, also found out that for immigrant parents, “inactive pursuits" such as reading and studying were more important than engaging in physical activities.
Hispanic kids
Of the ethnic-immigrant groups studied, Hispanic children — about 22.5 percent — were more physically inactive compared with 9.5 percent of US-born white kids with US-born parents.
The study said that “approximately, 67 percent of Hispanic children did not participate in sports compared with 30 percent of native Asian children."
Results of the study also showed that 13 percent of black immigrants, 10 percent of whites, and seven percent of Asians did not engage in vigorous activities. Meanwhile, 49 percent of blacks, 38 percent of Asians, and 32 percent of whites did not participate in sports.
It further found out that while immigrant kids were not that sporty as their counterparts, “they were…less likely to watch television."
However, as immigrant kids absorb the American lifestyle, including watching TV, the “nativity gap" narrows, according to the study.
Viewing habits
Based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Communications Outlook 2007, the US had the longest daily TV viewing habit of more than eight hours a day among OECD member-countries.
Next is Turkey with five hours, followed by Italy with over four hours.
Households that spent over three hours on the boob tube were Belgium, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Australia, South Korea, and Canada.
Families in Britain and Denmark stayed glued on the box for three hours, while in Finland, Austria, New Zealand, Ireland, Switzerland, and Sweden, households watched TV less than three hours daily. - ARCS, GMANews.TV
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