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RESEARCH & RESOURCES

OBESITY / HEALTHY WEIGHT
INACTIVITY / SCREEN TIME
BENEFITS OF PLAY / SOCIALIZATION
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LINKED TO ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
TRANSPORTATION

OBESITY / HEALTHY WEIGHT

We know that riding a bike is a healthy activity, but when kids master biking early in life, they tend to stick with it their whole life. This means that today’s children and tomorrow’s adults live happier, healthier lives.
The All Kids Bike panel, “The Physiology of Early Childhood Biking” discusses the physical development of toddlers and kindergarteners, including balance and muscle strength. It also examines how exercise improves children’s health, including cardiovascular, motor skills, coordination, weight management, skeletal development, and the immune system.

VIEW:

All Kids Bike Health and Education Symposium- Physiology of Early Childhood Biking.https://allkidsbike.org/video-symposium/

“Experts said the results point to a critical “window” in early childhood – between the ages of 2 and 5 or 6 years old – that can set the state for persistent obesity.”

RESOURCE:
 Norton, Amy. (2018, October 3). Path to Obesity May Start in Preschool. HealthDay. Retrieved from https://health.usnews.com/health-care/articles/2018-10-03/path-to-obesity-may-start-in-preschool.

“The more children played outdoors, the more their BMI decreased over the preschool year and less likely they were to be obese. The difference between high levels and low levels of outdoor play corresponded to 0.81 BMI points and a 42% reduction in children’s risk of obesity. Sixty minutes was the “tipping point” for the association between outdoor play time and improvements in children’s BMI. These associations were also stronger among children who were obese at the start of the year, less active at home, and living in unsafe neighborhoods.”

RESOURCE:

Ansarai, A. Gershoff, E. Pettit, K. (2015, October). Combating Obesity in Head Start: Outdoor Play and Change in Children’s Body Mass Index. J Dev Behavioral Pediatrics. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26372047.

“Overweight adolescents who participate in bicycling 3 to 4 days per week are 85% more likely to become normal-weight adults.”

RESOURCE:

Menschik, D., et al., 2008 – Adolescent physical activities as predictors of young adult weight, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 162, 23-28
“Children who begin biking or walking to school at an early age (grade 1) are more likely to stay a healthy weight during their early school years.”

RESOURCE:

Pabayo, R., et al., 2009 – Sustained Active Transportation is associated with a favorable body mass index trajectory across the early school years: Findings from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development birth cohort, 54,The more traffic surrounding a child’s home, the more likely they are to be overweight or obese.

INACTIVITY / SCREEN TIME

Mental health is just as important as physical health. As a nation, we’re seeing a drastic increase in a sedentary lifestyle, which can lead to depression and anxiety. Children who exercise and bike regularly are more likely to decrease their screen time, which can enhance their social and emotional well-being.

The All Kids Bike Health and Education Symposium panel “What is the All Kids Bike Movement and How Can I Help” offers alternatives to screen time with the AKB Learn-To-Ride Kindergarten PE Program. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, administrator, policymaker, or a pro-bike citizen, this session provides a clear overview of the All Kids Bike® movement, and how everyone can contribute to its success.

VIEW:

All Kids Bike Health and Education Symposium- What is the All Kids Bike Movement and How Can I Help?https://allkidsbike.org/video-symposium/
“Modern life is sedentary. Kids spent more time playing with electronic devices than actively playing outside. Kids who watch TV more than 4 hours a day are more likely to be overweight compared to kids who watch 2 hours or less… Many kids don’t get enough physical activity… Kids ages 2 to 5 years should play actively several times a day.”

RESOURCE:
Gavin, Mary, MD. (2018, June). Overweight and Obesity. Kids Health from Nemours. Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/overweight-obesity.html?WT.ac=p-ra.

 

“Kids and teens age 8 to 18 spend an average of more than seven hours a day looking at screens. The new warning from the AHA recommends parents limit screen time for kids to a maximum of just two hours per day. For younger children, age 2 to 5, the recommended limit is one hour per day.”

RESOURCE:

Welch, Ashley. (2018, August 6). Health experts say parents need to drastically cut kids’ screen time. CBS News. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-need-to-drastically-cut-kids-screen-time-devices-american-heart-association/.

“Research has linked screen time with an increased amount of sedentary behavior in children and teens. While there is no longterm evidence yet to link screen time to an increased risk of health conditions like cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol, there is mounting evidence that it is associated with obesity, cardiologist and CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula explains.”

RESOURCE:

Welch, Ashley. (2018, August 6). Health experts say parents need to drastically cut kids’ screen time. CBS News. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-need-to-drastically-cut-kids-screen-time-devices-american-heart-association/.
“Eighty-one percent of teens in a new national survey by the Pew Research Center said they feel more connected to their friends and associated social media use with feeling included. But in a month-long experiment at the University of Pennsylvania, college students who limited themselves to just 30 minutes a day on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat reported significant decreases in loneliness and depression.”

RESOURCE:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/groundbreaking-study-examines-effects-of-screen-time-on-kids-60-minutes/

According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 43% of children under 2 years of age watch television daily and almost one in five (18%) watch videos or DVDs every day. The majority of parents (88%) of these children under the age of 2 watch television every day, and claim to be in the same room as their children while watching TV, either all or part of the time.

RESOURCE:

https://interestingengineering.com/how-too-much-screen-time-is-affecting-your-childs-brain

“Broadly speaking, it has been found that excess exposure to television has been associated with a wide variety of negative effects on health. These effects range from an increase in violence and aggressive behavior, distorted sexual images, body image problems, and obesity or nutritional problems.”

RESOURCE:

https://interestingengineering.com/how-too-much-screen-time-is-affecting-your-childs-brain
“Regular exercise reduces depression and improves self esteem in overweight children.”

RESOURCE:

Petty, K., et al., 2008 – Exercise effects on depressive symptoms and self-worth in overweight children: A randomized controlled trial, Journal of Pediatric Psychology

BENEFITS OF PLAY / SOCIALIZATION

Children who learn how to ride a bike early have more opportunities to ride with friends and family, which means more socialization. Play serves as an integral part of social, emotional, and physical development. Not only does play boost confidence, it fosters friendships with other children.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LINKED TO ACADEMIC PERFORMACE

Bicycling provides a tremendous cardiovascular workout, building young muscles, strengthening kids’ immune systems, sharpening their minds, and elevating their academic performance.
The All Kids Bike Health and Education Symposium panel, “Integrating All Kids Bike® into the Primary School Curriculum ” allows you to hear firsthand from educators who’ve embraced the All Kids Bike® program in their schools and districts, and are enthusiastic about the benefits their students receive. This panel covers teacher training, parental participation, legal considerations, and community outreach.

VIEW:

All Kids Bike Health and Education Symposium- Integrating All Kids Bike into the Primary School System. https://allkidsbike.org/video-symposium/
“An adequate PE curriculum can help create healthy bodies and eager-to-learn minds. Adequate physical education doesn’t stop there; it sets children up for a healthy adulthood, perpetuating the cycle of well-being for generations to come.”

RESOURCE:

https://sparkpe.org/blog/how-physical-activity-affects-academic-performance/
“The overall findings continue to be positive; as PA increases, cognitive function and academic achievement generally increase.”

RESOURCE:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254612000737
“There is substantial evidence that physical activity can help improve academic achievement, including grades and standardized test scores.”

RESOURCE:

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/health_and_academics/pdf/pa-pe_paper.pdf
“For children, schools provide the most accessible, and sometimes only, opportunity for regular, structured play, physical education, physical activity and sports. This is particularly true of those with financial and/or transportation challenges, and those with parents who lack the time to enable their children’s participation due to work commitments. In addition, the institution of school—and its messages, expectations and the availability of positive physical activity options—is also enormously influential during a child’s primary and school years. That said, schools exert the most positive influence when the school as a whole works to encourage participation.”

RESOURCE:

https://issuu.com/florisvancauwelaert/docs/designed_to_move_full_report__1_
“Inadequate levels of social and emotional functioning are increasingly recognized as central to many public health problems (e.g., substance abuse, obesity, violence). Just as researchers study how academic achievement in a population can lift groups out of poverty, public health scientists are now studying how these noncognitive factors affect health and wellness across domains.”

RESOURCE:

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302630