Aquacise tackles childhood obesity

30.11.2006

Aquacise can offer an alternative for those children who either feel embarrassed, or who physically cannot cope with mainstream PE demands by transferring into water. Natalie Sidwell, STA’s Aquacise Development Officer further discusses the issue of obesity and how Aquacise can help to tackle the problem.

You may have recently seen the programme on Channel 4 – Ian Wright’s Unfit Kids. – September 2006. It is ever apparent to us all that we are fast becoming a nation of overweight and unhealthy people. This programme helped to confirm my worst fears, some of which were like looking back in time, and knowing only too well the effects excess weight can have on the quality of your life.

A few facts to come from the programme gave me cause for concern

  • An overweight child has a 95% chance of becoming an obese adult!
  • Obesity related illness reduces life expectance by 9 years!
  • The cost of obesity is 3.7 billion – Government White Paper 2006
  • Children who take part in sport are more likely to do better at exams, and are less likely to misbehave or truant
  • Overweight children are more likely to be victims and perpetrators of bullying!
  • British teenagers spend 2.5 months staring at the screen each year!
  • The rate of obesity has increased 97% in china in 10 years according to the government report
  • Heart disease is the leading cause of death in England & Wales - National Statistics 2006

There have been many studies into this alarming problem, and the overwhelming need to improve the quality of life for those children who hold our future in their hands has to be improved now.

So look at some of the facts:

Obesity continues to be a significant health problem in the world and is on the dramatic increase within the UK - our biggest prevalence of overweight and obesity among children. The problem has now become so important that the book has fallen at the feet of the government – to provide clear outlined targets to reduce obesity and describes plans to improve both the evidence base and underlying information that will allow us to measure the trends more effectively.

What does obesity mean?

It is important to distinguish between being overweight and being clinically obese. In adults, obesity is usually measured by BMI (Body Mass Index), which is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by their height in meters squared. For example:

Someone weighing 76.2Kg (which is 12 stone in old money)
And measuring 1.7meters (approximately 5ft 7in)
Would have a BMI of 26.4 – which would be deemed as overweight!

For adults, the relevant cut-off points are:

  • BMI < 20 Underweight
  • BMI 20 – 25 desirable or healthy range
  • BMI 25-30 Overweight
  • BMI > 30 Obese

For children the situation is more complicated, with suggestions that waist circumference and other measures may be more appropriate. The BMI targets for measuring child obesity are supported by the International Obesity Task Force (Bellizi and Dietz, 1999).

Let’s look at the contributing factors:

The human form is clearly designed for physical activity so perhaps we should not be shocked to learn that in a chronic sedentary state it shows signs of failure. The quality and quantity of the foods we eat have always been at the front of the media attention when attempting to shock people into consuming less. Very little attention has been given to the need to exercise - we have developed from the hunter-gatherer endurance system, over several millions of years this helped us to be highly successful survivors. However, it is ironic that the pace of the environment has developed in countries in the last century and left the human form poorly prepared. We have adapted to consuming the vast array of high-energy dense food without the need to seek food. In short we are still consuming vast amounts of food and storing it within our bodies and not having to burn it off.

Whilst education in schools has improved the public awareness of good nutrition with the help of celebrity Jamie Oliver, and the schools issuing the 5-a-day scheme throughout the country, the main problem comes from home. High fat, high salt convenience foods have become the norm for the weekly family meals. The days of pulling fresh vegetables from your own garden are long gone. Fast foods are everywhere because we cram so much into our lives today – but how many of us sit on our back sides whilst whizzing from place to place in the comfort of a car?

So can Aquacise help? WHY and HOW!!!!

Why? Benefits of Aquacise……

  • Reduced impact on joints to allow people who are carrying excess weight to achieve more in the water than they could sustain on land
  • Hydrostatic pressure assists the Venus return reducing the demand on the heart
  • Cooling effects of the water help the participant to work for longer periods of time in the Training Zone where they are burning fat as a fuel source
  • The water provides resistance to improve muscle tone and condition
  • The buoyant effects of the water assist with building water confidence and challenge the clients core strength and balance
  • Whilst the main obstacle could be getting someone with a weight problem into a swimsuit once in the water the clients feel more at ease with their body and achieve more from the workout because no one can see their body bouncing around as on land.
  • Aquacise is sociable and fun – many classes are of mixed age and gender, and good relations are made
  • Aquacise is adaptable from 1:1 training, interval & circuits training, deep-water classes, hydrotherapy, Sports association workouts for teenagers with attitude
  • 450 – 550 calorific consumption in one hour of moderate intensity workout – (Baum Engalnd1997; Westwood 2005 – Coquitlam Canada)
  • Comfortable medium to work so that excessive sweating is controlled
  • Muscle strength and endurance is increased
  • Bone strength is increased without compromising the joint function
  • Rehabilitation is not a restriction and progress is made more apparent
  • Psychological problems are improved due to natural endorphins being released

HOW? Aquacise as a school curriculum activity for those aged 11-16 years

  • Training course for higher education PE teachers of 2 days
  • Introduce Aquacise into schools on a weekly basis as an optional activity
  • Develop modules to increase the awareness of their own bodies, function and benefits from exercise and the benefits of using water to improve their body shape and fitness levels
  • Make Aquacise appeal to the age group of making it sport/dance related and working around latest music when possible – working with schools to identify those who need help most but to be aware of the body conscious children with backing and support from local government initiatives to help promote and meet some of the public service agreements.

For further information please call the STA on 01922 645097 or e-mail sta@sta.co.uk.

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