Fibion Blog • Has passive lifestyle caught children? A case study of super active 5-year-old • Arto Pesola
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Has passive lifestyle caught children? A case study of super active 5-year-old

Has passive lifestyle caught children? A case study of super active 5-year-old

Only a few decades ago people walked or biked to work and school. Children played outside and climbed trees rather than spending their evenings in front of the screen.

Perhaps this sounds like a romanticized story to you – and that’s what it is these days. Few of us have realized how quick and dramatic the change has been. Our environment and entertainment have become digital, virtual, and busy in just a blink of an eye. Unfortunately, it has also become passive.

Here are some facts to support these statements. Children and adolescents are sitting during different stages of their lives (per day):

–           Kindergarteners: 6 hours and 40 minutes

–           Elementary school children: 8 hours and 0 minutes

–           High school students: 8 hours and 54 minutes

–           Adults: 9 hours and 7 minutes

Are children really that passive?

While the above-mentioned numbers may hold true on an average level, it is not uncommon to see children running in a yard and parks full of energy, incapable of sitting down. Therefore, we wanted to run a case study in one active youngster to prove this. We hope this report gives a possible example of how an active lifestyle may be possible regardless of the passive environment and our changing lifestyle.

The report is from Nooa, 5 years old. Samuli Mäenpää, the proud dad of Nooa, has been using Fibion in his personal trainer work.

A case study of super active 5-year-old

Fibion report shows that Nooa, 5, was super active!

As you can see from Nooa’s report, the days were super active. While Nooa was sitting only 6 hours (excellent level), he was active for a staggering 8 hours 54 minutes per day, from which 300 minutes was at moderate-to-vigorous intensity! That is ten times more than the basic physical activity recommendation for adults! Moreover, he had zero long sitting or standing periods per day. In other words, Nooa wasn’t staying still even for a moment.

That is ten times more than the basic physical activity recommendation for adults!

Fibion is used more and more to measure children. This is a good approach because physical activity is a modifiable lifestyle behavior and not as sensitive issue as, for example, body composition (see more from here).

Fibion can be used to set goals for children, parents and the whole family alike. Results such as Nooa’s is not an easy achievement. It requires active genes, parenting which encourages physical activity, probably some limits for screen time (although, if the active time is engaging enough, there are no need for limiting passive time), and a good example from parents. Maybe this kind of results can show a good example for us adults as well? Both children and adults need support and encouragement for the small active choices throughout the days.

Arto Pesola
Arto Pesola

Everyday Activity Scientist

Partner

Fibion Inc.

PhD in Exercise Physiology, Author of the 'Revolution of Natural Exercise' book

Some years ago, I was asked about my future plans. Without much of thinking I replied: “I want to make the world a better place where people don’t need to sit so much”. This spontaneous answer was the leading light to finish my PhD degree and forward to new business opportunities in health technology aiming at making life healthier - with less sitting. For my blog posts, I have used material from my book "Luomuliikunnan vallankumous" (engl. The revolution of everyday activity) (Fitra 2014).