July 30th

By Mutt Mulligan

Study shows kids who spend time outdoors after school are more physically fit. Share your tips!

Believe it or not, in some areas of the country back-to-school season is just around the corner. According to a new study, parents should schedule more outdoor time for their children after school this year to help them to be more physically fit.

Spending more time outdoors after school leads to more physically fit children, study shows

Researchers followed 306 Canadian children between the ages of nine and 17. They found that kids who spent most of their after-school time outside were three times more likely to meet the daily physical activity guidelines and were in better overall shape than those children who spent all of their time indoors after school.

During the study period, participants wore pedometers to track the number of steps they took in a week. They also reported the amount of time they spent in organized and free play activities outdoors. The children who reported being outside the most after school got 20 more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each day than those who spent more time indoors.

Read more about the study here.

So it may seem obvious that getting kids to be active outdoors will help them be healthier. But the big question is how do you accomplish this with the omnipresent distractions of computers, video games, smartphones and more?

We want to hear from you! Share how you’ve managed to get your kids to spend more time outdoors in our comments section or on TurfMutt’s Facebook page.