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A new report from the American Heart Association says fitness [level / levels] in children are lower today than they were 30 years ago. The researchers looked at data from the [past / passed] 46 years. The statistics were [in / on] more than 25 million children in 28 countries. The research team found that on [average / avenge] , today's children run one kilometre about one minute [slower / slowly] than their parents did three decades ago. The figures were [rough / roughly] the same for boys and girls. The [distance / far] a child can run is [decreasing / decreased] by around half of one per cent every year. One of the biggest reasons for the slowdown in children's running [able / ability] is obesity. Kids are overweight because they are eating too much and not [exercising / exercises] enough.

The researchers say their report is [worrying / worried] . If children are becoming fatter and less [fitting / fit] , they will be unhealthier in the future. Lead researcher Dr Grant Tomkinson said: "If a young person is [general / generally] unfit now, then they are more likely to develop [condition / conditions] like heart disease later in [living / life] ." Dr Tomkinson said: "We need to help to [inspire / inspiration] children and [youthful / youth] to develop fitness habits that will keep them healthy now and into the future. They need to [choice / choose] a range of physical activities they like or think they might like to try, and they need to get [moving / moved] ." He added: "Young people can be fit in different ways. They can be strong like a weightlifter, or flexible like a gymnast, or [skillful / skill] like a tennis player."