Editorial: Get off that couch, potato

Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2005 | 8:43 a.m.

A new study, considered to be more precise than earlier research, shows a third of U.S. teens are physically unfit and face increased risks of heart disease as adults.

According to results of the study, which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Wednesday, 34 percent of the 3,110 12- to 19-year-olds tested fell into the lowest level of fitness and were more than twice as likely to be overweight and have high cholesterol than teens who scored higher. Those least likely to be fit were Mexican-American boys and black girls, the study shows.

Based on these results, researchers estimate that 7.5 million U.S. adolescents are unfit. James Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, was quoted in a recent USA Today story as saying parents should view these results as a "wake-up call" and lead their children into more active lives by being active themselves.

But new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau suggests many of us are setting a poor example. The bureau's Statistical Abstract, a 1,000-page tome of facts and figures, shows that participation in nearly every recreational physical activity, from golf to skiing, has declined. But the number of people who watch sporting events has increased.

We are turning into a population of spectators rather than players, and it is having a negative impact on our children's present and future health. The cure, however, is simple: Turn off the TV, and go out and play.