It's all in the details!

I just finished reading an article in TIME magazine titled: "Teen Obesity: Lack of Exercise May Not Be to Blame" by Alice Park that discusses findings from a new study by researchers at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The findings point to the fact that the prevalence of obesity in U.S. teens may not be due to decreased levels of physical activity.

These findings could easily lead to a belief that physical activity has nothing to do with weight management and could be used as an excuse to not incorporate physical activity and exercise into daily routines. This may not be the best perspective to put into the minds of your students.

The TIME article includes a great response to the findings from Dr. Janet Walberg Rankin, a professor in the department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech. "We need to have a dual approach to weight involving both diet and activity." She goes on to advise that, "people should take the new data with a grain of salt...The data is too general to assume that exercise doesn't count."

What can we take away from these findings? Physical activity levels for American and Canadian teens are still very low and even if the lack of physical activity can't explain the rise in obesity, we should still be advocates of it. The best approach to maintaining a healthy weight is to eat a balanced diet and get 60 minutes of physical activity at least 3 times a week.