Kids Getting Weaker with Each Generation

Today’s children run a lot worse than their parents did at the same age. The researchers found out that today’s children need 30 seconds more to run the distance of one mile.

The scientists of the University of South Australia have decided to learn how physical training of modern children is different from the physical shape of their parents 30-40 years ago. To do this, the researchers began to find out how much time today’s children need to run the distance of one mile (1.6 km) and compared the results with the data on exactly the same heats, run by ​​their fathers and mothers when they were children.

It turned out that the sports training of today’s children has worsened on average by 15%. To run the same distance, they now need half a minute more than their parents at the same age. According to the experts, this is due to the change of children’s lifestyle. Earlier, they used to spend most of their time on the street, where there was a lot of motion, and now more and more of them sit in front of computer and television screens.

In total, the researchers looked at the statistics of sports results that was collected during 50 different studies, conducted among 25 million children in 28 countries. According to the author of the study, Dr. Grant Tomkinson, reduction in children’s athletic performance inevitably leads to the deterioration of their overall health because running is one of the most effective aerobic exercises.

However, in some countries, today’s children turn out to be a little more trained, and a little worse trained in others. For example, in China physical fitness of the children has deteriorated as much as by 30% during 30 years, while in Japan, some European countries and Australia, it has not changed.