American children are not the only couch potatoes with nearly one third of children globally spending 3 hours a day or more watching TV or on computers, according to the study of over 70,000 teens in 34 nations.
From Argentina to Zambia, Regina Guthold of the World Health Organization in Geneva and her colleagues found most children were not getting enough exercise and that it made no difference whether they live in a rich or a poor country. “With regards to physical levels, we didn’t find much of a difference between rich and poor countries,” Guthold said, “Growing up in a poor country doesn’t necessarily mean kids get more physical activities.”
The researchers defined adequate physical activity as at least an hour of exercise outdoors for at least 5 days a week. Children spending 3 or more hours a day watching TV, playing computer games or chatting with friends were classified as sedentary.
The researchers found only a quarter of the boys and 15 percent of the girls were getting enough exercise by these definitions. A quarter of boys and nearly 30% of girls were sedentary and didn’t get enough exercise with girls less active than boys in every country aside from Zambia.
Girls from India were the most active with 37 percent meeting exercise recommendation, while girls from Egypt were the least active with 4 percent getting enough exercise. Children in Myanmar were the least sedentary while the most sedentary nations were St .Lucia and the Cayman Islands.
People show deep concern for kids’ lack of physical activity in various nations. Why do they have a low level of physical activity? Guthold speculated（认为）that urbanization could be a factor as well as easy access to cars and TVs.
小题1:If you are sedentary, you ____________.
A．are a diligent student spending much time doing homework
B．have at least an hour of exercise outdoors 5 days a week.
C．like watching TV and playing computer games
D．spend longer hours sitting or lying without moving小题2:Which of the following statements is true as to Guthold’s finding?
A．Most children around the world don’t meet the exercise recommendation.
B．Girls in every country are no more active than boys.
C．Children in rich countries relatively get less physical activity.
D．Only 4% of the girls from Egypt are not active in exercise.小题3:All the following statements are wrong except _______.
A．Children in poor countries get more physical activities.
B．Girls in Egypt are more active than those in India.
C．Couch potatoes are those children addicted to snacks.
D．Children in Myanmar are less sedentary than those in St .Lucia.小题4:What would the writer be most likely to discuss in detail in the paragraph that follows?
A．The suitable amount of physical activities for students.
B．Some of the factors for the popularity of cars and TVs among the kids.
C．The reasons behind the lack of physical activities.
D．The ways to make the most of cars and TVs.
