Kids Worldwide Less Heart Healthy than Their Parents at Their Age

Kids today run slower and shorter distances than their parents did at their age, according to a new worldwide study.

Researchers looked at 50 studies on running fitness carried out from 1964-2010. Altogether, 25 million kids between 9-17 years old and representing 28 different countries were included in the analysis presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.;

The first study to demonstrate a global drop in kids' cardiovascular fitness since 1975, the report included the following findings:

• In the United States, kids' cardiovascular endurance fell an average 6 percent per decade between 1970 and 2000.

• Across nations, endurance has declined consistently by about 5 percent every decade.

• Kids today are roughly 15 percent less fit from a cardiovascular standpoint than their parents were as youngsters.

• In a mile run, kids today are about a minute and a half slower than their peers 30 years ago.

The researchers uncovered a link between the declines in cardiovascular endurance and an increase in body fat.

"In fact, about 30 percent to 60 percent of the declines in endurance running performance can be explained by increases in fat mass," Grant Tomkinson, lead author of the study and senior lecturer in the University of South Australia's School of Health Sciences, said in a statement.

These overall trends could mean the world is on course to an even sicker tomorrow, the researcher warned.

"If a young person is generally unfit now, then they are more likely to develop conditions like heart disease later in life," he said, adding that kids should get at least 60 minutes of exercise each day, whether through running, swimming or other means.

"We need to help to inspire children and youth to develop fitness habits that will keep them healthy now and into the future," Tomkinson said. "They need to choose a range of physical activities they like or think they might like to try, and they need to get moving."