Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Electronics-addicted Couch Potatoes.

What is worse than a couch potato?

A couch potato who is addicted to an electronic screen!

Having witnessed the total meltdown of a 13yo in my office a couple of weeks ago when mom told the patient her smartphone was going to be taken away (she has severe dry eye, meibomian gland dysfunction, and vision-threatening corneal scar tissue), I firmly believe we have an international epidemic of electronically-addicted couch potatoes as this generation's key problem. 

This key article below notes the need for kids to exercise and do sports activity at least 60 minutes a day. and 3 days per week of muscle-strengthening activity. Adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week combined with 2 days per week of muscle-strengthening activity. 

With electronics taking up more of everyone's time, it will be imperative to get kids moving while they are young to avoid the consequences of an electronics-addicted couch potatoes. 

I encourage all parents to ban together & get these Trojan horses out of the schools and out of our kids' hands and get them outside to exercise! Frequently. 

SLC




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Viewpoint
November 20, 2018

Physical Activity Guidelines for Health and Prosperity in the United States

JAMA. 2018;320(19):1971-1972. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.16998

The PAG Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition1,2  defines sufficient physical activity for adults as at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week combined with 2 days per week of muscle-strengthening activity. For youth (6 through 17 years), recommendations include at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per day and 3 days per week of muscle-strengthening activity.1,2 By simply meeting these physical activity guidelines, billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives could potentially be saved, and millions more Americans could experience improved quality of life.



References
1.
US Department of Health and Human Services.  Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2018.
2.
Piercy  KL, Troiano  RP, Ballard  RM,  et al.  The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans  [published online November 12, 2018].  JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.14854ArticleGoogle Scholar

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