Young children 'should be encourage to exercise outdoors'
04/05/2010 Parents need to encourage their children to spend time exercising outdoors before they start school to prevent obesity, according to one expert.
Dr Linda Voss, coordinator of the EarlyBird Diabetes Study, said that it is essential that from an early age children learn the habits which will keep them healthy in later life.
"All these initiatives that are put in at school - school dinners, PE and sports - are too late; the kids are overweight before they even start school," she explained.
Dr Voss added that the increase in cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes seem to be linked to the growing levels of obesity brought on by modern lifestyles.
Exercising outdoors can help to combat this, according to Dr Victoria King, research manager at Diabetes UK.
She recently suggested that diabetes patients should be advised to begin exercising outdoors before they are offered medication. However, further study needs to be done in the area to establish how it can be used most effectively.
Dr Linda Voss, coordinator of the EarlyBird Diabetes Study, said that it is essential that from an early age children learn the habits which will keep them healthy in later life.
"All these initiatives that are put in at school - school dinners, PE and sports - are too late; the kids are overweight before they even start school," she explained.
Dr Voss added that the increase in cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes seem to be linked to the growing levels of obesity brought on by modern lifestyles.
Exercising outdoors can help to combat this, according to Dr Victoria King, research manager at Diabetes UK.
She recently suggested that diabetes patients should be advised to begin exercising outdoors before they are offered medication. However, further study needs to be done in the area to establish how it can be used most effectively.
