Get fit, the hard way

A study conducted by researchers has revealed that adolescents who undergo vigorous physical activity on a regular basis tend to be leaner and fitter than their less active peers. The study, conducted by researchers from the Medical College of Georgia, states that kids who undergo vigorous activity for longer periods of time, remain the leanest and the fittest, as these activities affect cardiovascular fitness.

"The leanest and fittest kids are the ones who have the most vigorous activity for longer periods of time. "We could not show that the amount of minutes spent in moderate activity — such as walking to school — was related to how fat they were, although it did have some impact on cardiovascular fitness. The implication is that you need to do vigorous activity if you want to be lean," the journal quoted Dr Bernard Gutin, exercise physiologist at the college and lead author of the study as saying.

For their study, the researchers used an accelerometer that discriminates between light, moderate and vigorous physical activity to monitor the usual physical activity of 421 black and white adolescents for five days, with cardiovascular fitness, measured by a treadmill test that went progressively faster at an increasing incline.

The findings revealed that the most fit took in more oxygen at a lower heart rate, with black males having the highest average at 8.6 minutes and black females the lowest at 2.8 minutes. The study also revealed that boys had less body fat than girls.

Researchers are of the opinion that obese, unfit children should start with moderate physical activity and an improved diet, and then progress to more vigorous activity as they become leaner and fitter.

"These data suggest that general exercise recommendations for adolescents should encourage vigorous physical activity," the study stated.

Researchers further say that children who inherit a predisposition to be unfit or obese may be less likely to engage in vigorous physical activity, adding that parents should try to put children in environments where they can be active and safe, such as after-school and weekend programmes. — ANI