Nike
behind study to make kids more active
Today's
youth could be the first generation in history not to outlive its parents'
generation.
That's
part of a new study unveiled Monday by Designed To Move, a group of
organizations led by Nike, the American College of Sports Medicine and the
International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education, that are hoping
to boost physical activity among young people.
The
study's eye-popping stat is that today's children are on track to have a life
expectancy five years shorter than their parents.
The
report details that a child who lives in the United States becomes 75 percent
less active between the ages of 9 and 15 and that, in the past 44 years,
physical activity in the U.S. is down 32 percent and is projected to be down 46
percent by 2030. If money needs to be the motivator, consider this: The direct
cost of inactivity will lead to a 113 percent increase in health care costs by
2030.
On
Monday, Nike publicly acknowledged these efforts to team with more than 70
organizations to jump-start activity across the world.
"We
need to create awareness to break this cycle," said Nike Brand president
Charlie Denson.
Track
star and Nike endorser Allyson Felix, who picked up three gold medals at this
year's Olympics, said attitudes have to change.
"We know that habits about physical activity form before kids are 10 years
old," said Felix. "So we change that. We have to give kids more positive experiences of
physical activity."
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