September 2, 2003 – Swedish schoolchildren walk, on average, 5,000 steps more per day than their American colleagues, exercise more in school and are generally less fat.
Indeed, researchers have discovered1 Swedish schoolchildren walk an average of 18,346 steps per day, compared to 15,023 for Australians and 13,872 for Americans (see the PasseportSanté.net graph for more details).
As a rule, boys walked more than girls, and ten-year-olds more than six-year-olds. The researchers then correlated the number of steps and the child’s body mass index, and found, unsurprisingly, that American children are fatter than Swedish children. Worse, there would be 2.5 times more obese children in the United States than in Sweden, when you consider obese a child with a body mass index over 30.
The Swedish school system also appears to promote physical activity more, with children doing an average of 180 minutes per week of physical education, compared to 115 minutes in Australia and less than 69 minutes in the United States.
The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 85% of children go to school by car or bus, and only 13% do so on foot or by bicycle. The CDC, however, is trying to turn the tide by promoting the Walking School Bus (the walking school bus)2, where an adult accompanies, on foot and from the door of their home to the door of the school, certain children, thus promoting physical exercise.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
According to Associated Press; August 25, 2003.
1. Vincent SD, Pangrazi RP, Raustorp A, Michaud Tomson L, Cuddihy TF. Activity levels and body mass index of children in the United States, Sweden, and Australia. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2003 Aug; 35 (8): 1367-73.
2. Green for action. www.goforgreen.ca/araspe/psa_e.htm
