Daily HealthBeat Tip

Unfit teens

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

It ought to be a natural fact that teenagers are physically fit. They have their youth, including fast-growing muscles and a high-revving metabolism.

But federal data indicate that for many, it's not so.

Russell Pate of the University of South Carolina examined fitness levels of close to 3,300 teens. His study, in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Pate says a third fell short on fitness standards.

"Kids who are low-fit are very likely to become adults that are low-fit, and there is a very large body of science showing that low-fit adults are at substantially greater risk of developing chronic diseases." (15 seconds)

Pate says teens need to be active, and adults need to help.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: December 28, 2006

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