little ones
BY CAROLINE DAKERS, COMMUNITY DIETITIAN
Physical Activity vs.
P
hysical activity is important
for people of all ages as we
know it can reduce the risk
of us developing certain health related
diseases e.g. cancer, strokes, diabetes
etc. and it is also important to help
us keep our weight under control –
which is linked to all these diseases as
well. Increasing our physical activity
has a positive impact on our mental
health too, helping us to produce
endorphins which make us feel good.
The current recommendation for
physical activity in children of school
age is at least 1 hour every day. It
is important children are reaching
their daily physical activity targets
through a variety of different types
of exercise including aerobic, muscle
strengthening and bone strengthening.
Examples of these include:
Screentime
• Aerobic – running, jumping, danc-
ing, swimming, cycling. These ac-
tivities target large muscles groups.
• Muscle strengthening – tug of war,
climbing trees/play equipment,
resistance training if age appropri-
ate. These activities are working the
muscles more directly.
• Bone strengthening – running,
jumping, tennis, hopscotch. These
activities promote bone growth and
strength through the impact with
the ground.
•
Some activities could be a good
example of all three categories
(Office of Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion, 2018)
With our increasing reliance on elec-
tronic devices, screentime is becoming
more of a feature in everyone’s lives;
in particular, children. Most adults will
remember a time when they didn’t have
Registered Dietitians Hannah Jones, Sarah
Williamson and Caroline Dakers providing
Medical Nutrition Therapy
IN
ISLAND NUTRITION
Prevent and manage disease
IN
ISLAND NUTRITION
Insurance approved (copays may be
applicable)
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ISLAND NUTRITION
Improving access to High
Quality Nutritional Care
4th Floor Dallas Building, 7 Victoria St
Tel: 295-4082 Fax: 295-5245
Email: [email protected]
www.islandnutrition.bm
8
Ask your healthcare professional for a referral
to Island Nutrition
IN
ISLAND NUTRITION
Paediatrics: including Poor growth,
Behavioural issues, Overweight, Constipation,
Allergies, Tube feeding, Weaning
IN
ISLAND NUTRITION
Adults: including GI, Cardiovascular, Kidney
disease, Inflammation, Obesity, Cancer,
Wound healing, Pregnancy, Elderly
IN
ISLAND NUTRITION
a cell phone or computer games or if
they were around at the time you were
growing up, they were usually expensive
and not generally encouraged. Nowa-
days children are using ‘screens’ in
classrooms as a teaching tool; Interac-
tive boards instead of chalkboards,
tablets instead of pen and paper. As
a result, screens are now a part of
their lives from the day they are born.
Screens are not the enemy though
and are just a progression with the
times but, as a result of our reliance on
screens, it means a lot of us are becom-
ing less and less active and consequently
putting ourselves as increased risk of
developing health issues. It boils down
to - the more screentime our children
have, the less time there is for them to
be active.
The World Health Organization
(WHO) has identified this inactiv-
ity as a growing issue and have most
recently launched at a new ‘Global
action plan on physical activity 2018-
2030’. The plan sets out objectives and
recommendations to all countries to
promote physical activity. They plan to