Your Close Friends Influence How Active You Are    [08-06-2012] Are you an active child? Then, your friends must be active, too. According to new research, children who like to be active can influence others to be the same! So, if you want to be more active, hang around with active friends. Staying active helps you maintain a healthy weight and improve your overall health. Researchers at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, U.S. studied children’s activity levels. Using a motion-sensing device, the researchers measured activity among 81 elementary school children over three months. The children were attending after school programs in Nashville. They also interviewed the children to see who they spent the most time with during these after school hours. They found the activity level of the children depends on their closest friends. According to the researchers, children in social groups that include physically active kids were six times more likely to be physically active themselves. In other words, their close friends have the strongest influence on the amount of time the children spent in physical activity. Today, child obesity is a serious social problem in the U.S. Nearly one in five kids in the country is obese. Eating junk food and lack of exercise are major causes to the childhood obesity epidemic. Therefore, the U.S. government is trying to come up with effective health policies to prevent the serious health problem. “It is important to get children involved in more physical activities. Friendship networks have a big impact on body weight in children. So we should help children be more active and influence each other,” said researcher Sabina Gesell. “Kids who don’t exercise or eat well may benefit from hanging out with kids who do.” Many studies also suggest that obesity spreads from friend to friend. This means that if you spend a lot of time with a friend who likes eating junk food, you tend to eat junk food, too. Social networks can influence eating behaviors in children and teens. If you want to stay active, spend more time with active friends!     출처: 어린이 영자신문 키즈타임즈 (www.kidstimes.net)