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Children are as fit as endurance athletes

Endurance Athletes - Level 4

Children always have bags of energy and never run out of steam. Researchers said children are as fit as endurance athletes. Children recover from "high-intensity exercise" a lot quicker than athletes. Researchers compared the performance levels of children cycling to athletes cycling. They found the children used more of their aerobic metabolism and so were less tired during high-intensity physical exercise. The children recovered faster than the athletes."

The researchers' findings could help us understand how our body changes with age. It could help fight many diseases. A researcher said children were becoming less active and there was a rise in diseases related to this physical inactivity. Understanding the changes in our body as we grow might reduce disease. Children should play a lot and keep fit as they grow up so they become healthy adults. Children play long after adults have become tired.

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Endurance Athletes - Level 5

Children always seem to have bags of energy and never run out of steam. Researchers found that children have the stamina and levels of recovery of endurance athletes. Children recover from "high-intensity exercise" a lot quicker than athletes. A study looked at the performance levels of children cycling, and compared their fitness to athletes. Dr Sebastien Ratel said: "We found the children used more of their aerobic metabolism and were therefore less tired during the high-intensity physical activities. They also recovered very quickly - even faster than the well-trained adult endurance athletes."

The researchers hope their findings will help scientists understand how the human body changes with age. It could help in the fight against diabetes and other diseases. Dr Ratel warned that children are becoming less active. He said: "With the rise in diseases related to physical inactivity, it is helpful to understand the physiological changes with growth that might contribute to the risk of disease." He said children should keep fit as they grow up and play a lot so they become healthy adults. He said: "Children seem to have the ability to play and play...long after adults have become tired."

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Endurance Athletes - Level 6

Have you ever wondered why children always seem to have bags of energy and never run out of steam? Researchers have discovered that children have the stamina and levels of recovery of endurance athletes. In fact, scientists say children's muscles recover from "high-intensity exercise" a lot quicker than athletes. A study looked at the performance levels of children when they were cycling, and compared their fitness to that of athletes. Researcher Dr Sebastien Ratel said: "We found the children used more of their aerobic metabolism and were therefore less tired during the high-intensity physical activities. They also recovered very quickly - even faster than the well-trained adult endurance athletes."

The researchers hope that their findings will help scientists better understand how the human body changes with age. It could lead to advances in the fight against diabetes and other diseases. Dr Ratel said the research was particularly important as more children were become less active. He warned: "With the rise in diseases related to physical inactivity, it is helpful to understand the physiological changes with growth that might contribute to the risk of disease." He added that children should maintain their fitness as they grow up and play as much as they could so they remain healthy as adults. He said: "Children seem to have the ability to play and play and play, long after adults have become tired."

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson