In an effort to get a true measure on the extent of childhood obesity, the Institute of Medicine has released a new?report which, among other things,?recommends that schools resume fitness tests on a wide-scale basis. Dr. Russ Pate, an exercise physiologist at the University of South Carolina?s Arnold School of Public Health, was chair of the committee that produced the report.
He said?the surveys were once?conducted on kids decades ago, but were discontinued in the 1980s. ?We are very hopeful that we will get back to measuring in the population of American kinds, this very important aspect of their health.?
Pate says the committee recommended several items to be used in?a future national survey. They?include measuring endurance by the use of the shuttle run test, which has been widely used in research and schools for over a decade. ?We also recommended measurement of body composition or body fatness using three measures; the body mass index which is a calculator from height and weight, skin fold thicknesses, and waist circumference.?
Pate says it is important that the information gathered from the proposed survey in the school setting be shared with school administrators, teachers, parents and students ?In a way that enables the parent to clearly understand the child?s status, and understand what could appropriately be done to improve the child?s fitness if an improvement is called for based on the child?s performance.?
Pate says the overall goal is to improve the health and fitness of each child.
The report?says the standards for testing with vary with age and gender groups. The committee also?went into considerable detail in making recommendations as to how test findings should be interpreted. ?Performance on these tests should be interpreted using cut scores that would identify kids whose fitness levels are low enough that their health status has been placed ?at risk.?
Pate says if a child falls into the ?at risk? category they should be provided with appropriate exercise programs that will improve their fitness levels and ultimately meet the appropriate standards.
Pate says as people in American society have settled into more sedentary lifestyles, including children, he suspects that the fitness level of youth has dropped over the years, but we need to have empirical evidence that is actually the case. ?I think it?s very likely that is the case, that the fitness levels of American kids have declined over the last several decades, but until we replicate the national survey that needs to be done, we?re not going to know for sure.?
Pate says if the federal government calls for a national survey on the health of children in the near future he would hope the recommendations of the committee would be implemented as part of the survey over the next year or two.
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