Parents NPR story about physically active kids

[MaryA]

And it just so happens, DD wants to be a biologist. And a gymnastics coach, of course.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/201...prfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook

 

[MaryA]

So here's a question for coaches. These kids wore an acclerometer to find out how many minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise they got per day. Out of an average hour of gymnastics practice, how much moderate to vigorous exercise do you think kids get? And I wonder if an acclerometer reigisters both aerobic and anaerobic exercise? I bet my dancer, who does about 7-8 hours of dance class a week, but otherwise is mostly a bookworm, probably doesn't make the hour-a-day average because stretching and such may not register as moderate-to-vigorous exercise. But she'd do better than the 18-minute average, at least.

 

[mommyof1]

And I wonder if an acclerometer reigisters both aerobic and anaerobic exercise?

Here is an explanation of how accelerometers are used to measure physical activity: Link Removed. It states: "The consensus appears to be that for activities entirely composed of flat-ground ambulation and rest, accelerometers can provide objective measures of activity."

So it sounds like an accelerometer would vastly underestimate the exertion involved in a dance class, which is most decidedly not "entirely composed of flat-ground ambulation and rest."

 

[MaryA]

Here is an explanation of how accelerometers are used to measure physical activity: Link Removed. It states: "The consensus appears to be that for activities entirely composed of flat-ground ambulation and rest, accelerometers can provide objective measures of activity."

So it sounds like an accelerometer would vastly underestimate the exertion involved in a dance class, which is most decidedly not "entirely composed of flat-ground ambulation and rest."

Nor gymnastics. Interesting to know.