One third of US teens unfit: study

Approximately one third of boys and girls between 12 and 19 years of age fail to meet recommended standards for cardiorespiratory fitness, according to a new report.

“This represents a significant public health problem,” write investigators, “because low physical fitness during adolescence tends to track into adulthood, and low-fit adults are at substantially increased risk” for chronic illness and death.

Dr. Russell R. Pate from the University of South Carolina in Columbia and colleagues determined physical fitness levels among 3,287 youth 12 to 19 years of age who took part in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Survey between 1999 and 2002.

They interviewed the adolescents and had them take a treadmill exercise test consisting of a two-minute warm-up, two three-minute exercise periods, and a two-minute cool-down.

Based on standards developed by fitness experts and used in schools nationwide, roughly 65 percent of the boys and girls met criteria for being physically fit.

“This indicates that roughly one third of US youth aged 12 to 19 years fail to meet the levels of cardiorespiratory fitness deemed appropriate by experts,” note Pate and colleagues in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

On average, teen boys were more physically fit than teen girls in the study, while overweight and teens at risk for becoming overweight showed lower cardiorespiratory fitness than their normal-weight peers.

Not surprisingly, teens who reported more sedentary behaviors such as watching TV or playing video games and those who spent less time in physically active endeavors were more apt to fall into the unfit category.

Because active youth tend to be more physically fit, Pate and colleagues encourage doctors to counsel children and parents about the importance of a physically active lifestyle.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, October 2006.

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