Reducing obesity in kids is a walk in a park, literally

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Allotting time for a few minutes walk during sedentary activities is beneficial for children and could help prevent diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease, a new study reveals.

In the study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), breaks as short as three minutes in between idle activities including watching TV can help improve the blood sugar levels of youngsters.

"Interrupting a long period of sitting with a few minutes of moderate activity can have short-term benefits on a child's metabolism," Dr. Jack Yanovski, co-author of the study, said in a press release published in Eureka Alert.  "While we know getting 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity exercise each day improves children's health and metabolism, small behavioral changes like taking short walking breaks can also yield some benefits."

The press release adds that children with sedentary lifestyles or those who spend most of their time sitting or reclining are at risk of developing health conditions such as pediatric obesity, which in turn could contribute to diabetes, stroke and some other types of cancer.

According to UPI, more than one-third of children and teens in the US are overweight or obese. The researchers believe that at least 30 minutes of light to moderate physical activity can benefit the health of children.

For the study, researchers studied nearly 30 healthy-weight children and put them into two groups. One group were asked to watch TV while seated for 3 hours, while the other group did the same but were given three-minute walking breaks every 30 minutes. The children took part of the study again by switching to the other group.

Researchers then tested the children's glucose tolerance in order to determine their body's glucose absorption and insulin development. They found that when the children took three-minute walks, they had 7 percent lower blood sugar levels and 32 percent lower insulin levels than on days they were just sitting.

Another author of the study, Britni Belcher, explained that their findings confirm that taking short breaks in between sedentary activities can help improve blood sugar levels in children, Medical Daily reports.

"Interrupting sedentary time with brief moderate-intensity walking improved short-term metabolic function in non-overweight children without increasing subsequent energy intake," the authors wrote in their study. "These findings suggest that interrupting sedentary behavior may be a promising prevention strategy for reducing cardiometabolic risk in children."