Annual aerobic fitness testing could help improve kids' health

每年对儿童和青少年进行有氧健康检查，可以帮助确定哪些人需要帮助，以保护他们未来的整体健康, a new report says.

Research shows nearly 60% of 12- to 15-year-olds in the U.S. do not have healthy cardiorespiratory fitness, 测量身体在运动时向肌肉供应氧气的能力. It is a key marker of overall health.

While weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar can track individual risk factors, 测量心肺适能可提供心脏的整体健康状况, lungs and blood circulation, said Dr. Geetha Raghuveer, 美国心脏协会新科学声明的写作委员会主席. It was published Monday in the journal Circulation.

“作为年度体检的一部分，每个孩子都将受益于(心肺健康)测试，这样做可以确定哪些孩子将受益于有助于改善健康的生活方式干预。," said Raghuveer, 他是儿童慈善医院的心脏病专家，也是密苏里大学的儿科学教授, both in Kansas City.

有氧适能低或不健康的儿童患过早心脏病的风险更高, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure at younger ages, 他们成年后因心脏病和中风而过早死亡的风险也在增加.

新的科学声明回顾了将儿童更好的有氧健身与学习成绩提高联系起来的研究, clearer thinking, better mental health and a higher sense of self-worth and life satisfaction. The level of cardiorespiratory fitness among kids has been declining in the U.S. and internationally over the past six decades, the report said.

"We've got to get kids moving and engaged in regular physical activity, such as in any sports they enjoy," Raghuveer said. “最好的活动是孩子或青少年喜欢的活动，而且能持续更长线上电子游戏飞禽走兽. 他们年轻时养成的习惯将直接有益于他们成年后的健康."

在2019冠状病毒病大流行之前进行的研究表明，儿童使用电子设备的线上电子游戏飞禽走兽越来越长, not only for education needs but for recreation and entertainment. 然而，青少年久坐线上电子游戏飞禽走兽与有氧健康之间的关系尚不清楚. 最近的一项分析综合了多项研究的结果，发现儿童越不活动，心肺健康水平越低, but not teens.

该科学声明称，测量心肺健康的“黄金标准”包括在参与者在跑步机上或在一种名为测力计的改装固定式自行车上锻炼至疲惫时，定期对呼吸进行特殊跟踪.

但大多数儿科保健办公室没有设施或人员定期这样做. So, the report's authors said schools could provide a solution.

Schools widely administer fitness tests such as the shuttle run, an effective measure of cardiorespiratory fitness. 学生的成绩是根据他们在计时哔哔声响起之前完成的20米圈数来衡量的，随着测试的进行，哔哔声会越来越短, forcing them to run faster. Many schools also measure body mass index, weight, abdominal strength, upper-body strength and flexibility through a group of tests called FitnessGram, which is administered in all 50 states.

Currently, 这些关于儿童健康的重要信息“不容易获得，因为它们是孤立的," Raghuveer said. Instead, 学校可以与卫生保健提供者分享他们的有氧健身测试结果——就像卫生保健提供者通常与学校分享免疫记录一样.

The report also looked at several social, 影响青少年心肺健康的经济和环境差异.

该声明引用的研究发现，低收入家庭的孩子心肺健康水平往往较低或不健康, possibly because they do not have access to safe places to exercise, play sports and be physically active. In many communities, physical education is not provided in schools, and outdoor recess opportunities have been reduced or eliminated.

In addition, many lower-income families live in food deserts, making it difficult to find or afford healthy foods, factors which contribute to obesity in young people and adults.

Raghuveer hopes the new report inspires research to find "valid, 传统心肺运动测试的低成本替代方案，以评估…所有儿童, 改进的(心肺健康)测试可以在空间有限的办公室进行，不需要经过正式训练的运动生理学人员.

"In the meantime," she said, “要求每个年级到高中都进行体育锻炼将是朝着正确方向迈出的一步."

If you have questions or comments about this story, please email [email protected].