New Report on Delawares Children: Screen Time, Physical Activity and Access to Safe Places to Play

Wilmington, Delaware
Thursday, November 16, 2006 @ 12:00 AM EST

A new survey of Delaware parents conducted by Nemours Health and Prevention Services (NHPS) suggests that many school-aged children are not getting the recommended amount of physical activity. One reason might be too much time spent watching television.

More than half of Delawares school-aged children watch two or more hours of television daily.

According to their parents, more than half (55%) of Delawares school-aged children watch two or more hours of television daily. Of children aged 3 to 5, more than a third (35%) are spending three or more hours a day in front of the television. Children with less educated parents watch more television than those with more educated parents. There are also racial differences. African American parents say their children watch more television than do parents of white children, although these differences disappear at higher income levels.

According to parents, half (51%) of Delawares children have a television in their bedrooms. Even among the youngest children, those aged 3 to 9, over four in 10 (44%) have a television in their room. Again, parents education plays a role. Just over one-third (36%) of children with a college-educated parent have a television in their room compared with six in 10 (62%) children of parents without a college education.

There is an increasing body of evidence that links television viewing with overweight and obesity - the more television children watch, the more at risk they may be for unhealthy weight gain. "Television is a sedentary activity, number one," said Debbie I. Chang, MPH, Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Nemours Health and Prevention Services (NHPS). "Second, children often snack while watching TV, and third, they are exposed to a barrage of ads for junk foods and sugary drinks." These factors converge, said Ms. Chang, to put the child at risk for weight gain.

NHPS 5-2-1-Almost None guidelines can help families stay healthy.

NHPS commissioned Lake Research Partners to conduct the survey of 807 Delaware parents about the weight, physical activity, "screen time" and eating habits of their children, aged 3-17. Some questions were based on the NHPS 5-2-1-Almost None healthy lifestyle guidelines which advocate:

• five servings of fruit and vegetables daily,
• two hours or less of "screen time" daily,
• one hour or more of daily physical activity, and
• almost no sugary drinks (soda, sports drinks and non-juice fruit drinks) - two or less per week.

Children who practice 5-2-1-Almost None can lower the risk of becoming overweight and developing health complications associated with excess weight.

Some children are not getting enough exercise; teens are particularly likely to be sedentary.

The 5-2-1-Almost None guidelines recommend children spend an hour or more per day engaged in some form of physical activity (not necessarily all at once, but throughout the day). Just over four in 10 (42%) Delaware parents say their children are meeting this goal, and another quarter (24%) come close, engaging in an hour of physical activity almost every day. Of parents surveyed, 13% say their children are getting an hour of exercise only twice a week or less.

Parents responses suggest children become more sedentary as they move into adolescence. Over half (55%) of 3 to 5-year-olds engage in an hour of physical activity a day as compared with four in ten (43%) 6 to 12-year-olds, and just a third (33%) of teenagers. Boys (48%) are somewhat more likely than girls (35%) to get an hour of daily exercise. "Nationally, there is a sharp drop-off in physical activity during adolescence," said Ms. Chang. "This data mirrors what is happening across the country." In fact, the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed that 13% of Delaware youth 13-17 reported engaging in no vigorous activity at all.*

Exercise frequency is not related to income, but there are some racial and ethnic differences.According to parents, half (49%) of African American children get an hour of physical activity every day compared with four in 10 (41%) white children and three in 10 (29%) Hispanic children. In addition, 56% of Delawares school-aged children participate in after-school or weekend sports, with participation peaking (72%) among 10 to 12-year-olds. Participation in organized sports is strongly related to income. Less than half (44%) of children from households with annual incomes under $50,000 participate, compared with 70% of children from homes with annual incomes exceeding $75,000.

Most Delaware parents (55%) believe their children are getting enough physical activity. Of those parents whose children get less than an hour per day, most realize that they are falling short. However, 22% of parents whose children exercise less often than every few days, feel that this is adequate activity. "This shows that while the majority of parents get it, some definitely do not understand the value of regular physical activity and its importance relative to their childs health. We can do a better job of educating parents in this area," said Ms. Chang.

Access to safe places to play is a major barrier for some.

Finally, fully 58% of parents surveyed are not satisfied that their children have enough access to safe places to play and be active. While 42% said there was plenty of access to parks, playgrounds and other safe places to play, 31% said there was some access, but they wish there were more, and a quarter indicated their children had little or no access. "This is concerning," said Ms. Chang. "The fact that a majority perceive their community as lacking in safe places to play is significant." Income matters: 40% of parents with household incomes under $30,000 report little or no access to safe places to play, compared with 24% of those with incomes over $30,000.Geography matters as well: about half of parents living in Wilmington and the rest of New Castle County feel their children have plenty of access to parks, playgrounds, etc., compared with 29% in eastern Kent and Sussex Counties, and 27% in western Kent and Sussex. However, in Wilmington, parents of white children are twice as likely to report plenty of access (66%) than are parents of African American children (32%).

*CDC YRBS 2005

For further information, contact Karen Bengston, Nemours Health and Prevention Services, 302-444-9108, or kbengsto@nemours.org.

Nemours Health and Prevention Services, headquartered in Newark, Delaware, works with families and communities to help children grow up healthy, both physically and emotionally. It is a division of Nemours, a non-profit organization dedicated to childrens health and health care that offers treatment services, research and training programs in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. Health and Prevention is Nemours newest division, created to expand its reach beyond clinical care to consider the health of the whole child within his or her family and community. Online at www.GrowUpHealthy.org

Lake Research Partners Inc. (LRP) is a national public opinion research firm with offices in Washington, DC and Oakland, California. LRP conducts public opinion studies about health and health care for some of the nations top foundations and universities.

modified: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 @ 09:40 AM EST
created: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 @ 08:23 AM EST

About Nemours

Nemours, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children’s health. Nemours offers an integrated spectrum of clinical treatment coupled with research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont’s bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.

Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children’s specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr) and New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees). Having recently received preliminary approval from the State of Florida, Nemours will establish a new full-service children’s hospital as part of an integrated pediatric health campus in Orlando. KidsHealth.org, the world’s most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours.

Nemours employs over 4,400 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for approximately a quarter of a million children in 2007. The organization’s goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children’s advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child. Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.