According to a new study, our kids are spending way too much time being carted around in strollers. Researchers fear that such physical inactivity may be a contributing factor to the rising level of childhood obesity.
At a recent presentation to the Canadian Paediatric Society conference in Quebec, researchers, who studied the habits of 1,000 children for the report, claimed that 80 per cent of one-to-two-year-olds spent more than half of their time outdoors in strollers. A quarter of children aged between three and five spent half of their outdoor time running around, while the rest was spent strapped in.
But Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, an obesity specialist, warned that such studies miss the point. \What we are seeing with kids getting larger is our environment -- not the fact that they are being pushed in a stroller but the fact that we are eating awful foods,\" he said. \"We have a ridiculous and toxic food environment and to try to put the blame on strollers is completely asinine.\"
Today's Parent editor, Sandra Martin, begs to differ. She told CTV news that such studies should make parents think twice before strapping their child in.
\"It is less convenient for parents who have to keep an eye on a child who is walking around in a busy amusement park or in a zoo… but that is a part of parenting,\" she admitted. \"It's not always convenient.\"
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