Relatie schermtijd en inactiviteit

De Britse “branchevereniging” (Association of Play Industries) bracht in januari 2019 een rapport uit over de relatie tussen inactiviteit en schermtijd bij kinderen. Het werd geschreven door Dr. Aric Sigman, en laat zich als volgt samenvatten:

» British children have high levels of body fat, Type 2 diabetes, mental illness, sleep deprivation and sedentary behaviour.
» Interrelationshipsbetweenphysical activity, free play, sedentary behaviour, discretionary screen time (DST), sleep, mental illness, body fat and Type 2 diabetes are being increasingly identified with some being bidirectional -working both ways.
» Scientists increasingly refer to a combination or ‘cocktail’ of movement behaviours associated with desirable indicators of health. There is an emerging view that children’s behaviours, both active and inactive, occur along a ‘movement continuum’ (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behaviour, DST, sleep).
» British children are part of a global pandemic of low physical activity, having very poor levels in international terms. More than 90% of British children aged 2-4 years now fail to meet even the bare minimum recommendations.
» Children are 2 – 3 times more physically active when outdoors than when indoors: they move more, sit less and play for longer. Some research has found that unstructured/’free’ play can burn more calories than school and sports programs combined.
» Being insufficiently physically active is not the same health risk as being too sedentary – scientists now believe that each have their own distinct health consequences: a child may engage in an acceptable level of physical activity but at the same
time spend an inordinate amount of time sitting.
» Outdoor play is associated with better social skills in preschool children, and those aged 7 -14 spending more time outdoors are found to be less likely to have peer relationship problems and have better psychosocial health.
» All sedentary behaviours are not equal. There may be some physiological and psychological differences between different types of sedentary behaviours including DST and even between different types of DST.

Lees meer op de website van Api-play of in het te downloaden rapport en infographic.

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