PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Today's children do engage in active play

What is the meaning and nature of active play for today's children in the UK?

2011-03-18
(Press-News.org) New research suggests that promoting active play in children's leisure time could increase the physical activity of today's children, but that such strategies might need to be tailored according to gender.

The paper, 'What is the meaning and nature of active play for today's children in the UK?' by Rowan Brockman and colleagues in the Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences within the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, is published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

The researchers found children's perceptions of what constituted play were broad and included both physically active and sedentary behaviours. Children aged 10- to 11-years old reported that they frequently engaged in active play consistent with that of previous generations, and valued both the physical and social benefits it provided.

However, whereas boys prefer 'having a kick about' or riding bikes, girls are less likely to have an equivalent specific physical activity. Additionally, boys appear to have greater freedom to roam in their active play than girls. Finally, boys are more likely to play with neighbourhood friends but girls are more often restricted to playing with family members.

Rowan Brockman, a researcher in the Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, said: "Contemporary children do engage in active play and value both the physical and social benefits it provides. This suggests that some children, at least, do not prefer to spend all their time watching TV or on computer.

"However, further research is needed to build a more informed picture of children's play before we consider strategies to increase it."

Eleven focus groups were conducted with 77, 10- to 11-year-old children from four primary schools in Bristol. Focus groups examined: 1) children's perceptions of 'play'; 2) how much of their play is active play; and 3) contexts of children's active play.

Preventing the decline in physical activity, which occurs around 10- to 11-years of age, is a public health priority. Physically active play can make unique contributions to children's development that cannot be obtained from more structured forms of physical activity.

The study is part of a larger project, the Active Play Project (TAPP), which examines the contribution of active play to the overall physical activity of primary school children.

INFORMATION:

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Stanford psychologists design 60-minute exercise that raises GPAs of minority students

2011-03-18
Along with the excitement and anticipation that come with heading off to college, freshmen often find questions of belonging lurking in the background: Am I going to make friends? Are people going to respect me? Will I fit in? Those concerns are trickier for black students and others who are often stereotyped or outnumbered on college campuses. They have good reason to wonder whether they will belong – worries that can result in lower grades and a sense of alienation. But when black freshmen participated in an hour-long exercise designed by Stanford psychologists to ...

Production of mustard oils: On the origin of an enzyme

Production of mustard oils: On the origin of an enzyme
2011-03-18
Plants are continually exposed to herbivore attack. To defend themselves, they have developed sophisticated chemical defense mechanisms. Plants of the mustard family, such as thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), produce glucosinolates (mustard oil glucosides) to protect themselves against herbivory. Scientists know many different kinds of these molecules; they have a similar structure, but different side chains. If insect larvae feed on mustard plants, glucosinolates are hydrolyzed to form toxic isothiocyanates. Chemists call this the "mustard oil bomb". Special enzymes ...

Medical Innovation Protection Stressed in EU-India Free Trade Agreement Talks

2011-03-18
The Financial Express published an article on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks that continue between the European Union (EU) and India. One of the most discussed and disagreed upon parts of the proposed FTA involves the need for protecting the intellectual property of pharmaceutical companies in order to promote medical innovation and investment in the development of new medicines and research. This disagreement about whether data exclusivity in the pharmaceutical sector should be included has resulted in the delay of finalizing the FTA. Pharmaceutical companies ...

Chemical-free pest management cuts rice waste

2011-03-18
In 2006, Maria Otilia Carvalho, a researcher from the Tropical Research Institute of Portugal had an ambitious goal: to cut the huge losses of rice – a staple food crop for half of humanity – due to pests, without using toxic pesticides that are increasingly shunned by consumers worldwide. She realised she could not do it alone and turned to EUREKA to support an international collaboration to address a looming threat to world's rice supplies. Harvested rice is constantly under menace from pest insects and fungi - to avoid the pests, farmers and producers treat the rice ...

Psychological impact of Japan disaster will be felt 'for some time to come'

2011-03-18
The psychological impact of natural disasters such as the Japan earthquake can be revealed in the way people inherently respond to unpredictable situations, according to a psychology expert at Queen Mary, University of London. Dr Magda Osman, Psychology Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, and author of Controlling Uncertainty: Decision-making and Learning in Complex Worlds, said the disaster had a devastating immediate effect on tens of thousands of people in Japan but the true psychological impact will be felt "for some time to come". "A disaster like the ...

New plant species gives insights into evolution

2011-03-18
A new plant species is providing an insight into how evolution works and could help improve crop plants, scientists have revealed. The new plant species, Tragopogon miscellus, appeared in the United States 80 years ago. It came about when two species in the daisy family, introduced from Europe, mated to produce a hybrid offspring. The species had mated before in Europe, but the hybrids were never successful. However in America something new happened. The number of chromosomes in the hybrid spontaneously doubled, and at once it became larger than its parents and quickly ...

eMaint Enterprises Joins Forces with the Reliability Performance Institute to Sponsor the CMMS-2011 CMMS, April 11-13, 2011

eMaint Enterprises Joins Forces with the Reliability Performance Institute to Sponsor the CMMS-2011 CMMS, April 11-13, 2011
2011-03-18
eMaint Enterprises, headquartered in Marlton, New Jersey has provided maintenance management software solutions since 1986. Dedicated to successful CMMS implementation, eMaint is pleased to be a contributing sponsor of the CMMS-2011 Computerized Maintenance Management Summit, a learning and networking event designed for those seeking to implement a new CMMS/EAM or reimplement an existing CMMS/EAM for more effective maintenance management and decision support. The Summit will take place at the Reliability Performance Institute in Fort Myers, Florida on April 11 - 13, 2011. eMaint's ...

Labor reforms of past 30 years have hit young people hardest

Labor reforms of past 30 years have hit young people hardest
2011-03-18
A study by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), analysing the impact of the labour reforms introduced over the past 30 years and the living conditions of new generations, asserts that these reforms have been the origin and cause of the current development model based on the exploitation of young people. "The study indicates that the Spanish economic development model over the past three decades – with high rates of economic growth and job creation – is based on the 'over-exploitation of the youngest generations of workers'", Pablo López Calle, author of the paper, ...

Human prejudice has ancient evolutionary roots

2011-03-18
The tendency to perceive others as "us versus them" isn't exclusively human but appears to be shared by our primate cousins, a new study led by Yale researchers has found. In a series of ingenious experiments, Yale researchers led by psychologist Laurie Santos showed that monkeys treat individuals from outside their groups with the same suspicion and dislike as their human cousins tend to treat outsiders, suggesting that the roots of human intergroup conflict may be evolutionarily quite ancient. The findings are reported in the March issue of the Journal of Personality ...

Study finds more efficient means of creating, arranging carbon nanofibers

Study finds more efficient means of creating, arranging carbon nanofibers
2011-03-18
Carbon nanofibers hold promise for technologies ranging from medical imaging devices to precise scientific measurement tools, but the time and expense associated with uniformly creating nanofibers of the correct size has been an obstacle – until now. A new study from North Carolina State University demonstrates an improved method for creating carbon nanofibers of specific sizes, as well as explaining the science behind the method. "Carbon nanofibers have a host of potential applications, but their utility is affected by their diameter – and controlling the diameter of ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Parents of children with health conditions less confident about a positive school year

New guideline standardizes consent for research participants in Canada

Research as reconciliation: Oil sands and health

AI risks overwriting history and the skills of historians have never been more important, leading academic outlines in new paper

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology: Higher doses of semaglutide can safely enhance weight loss and improve health for adults living with obesity, two new clinical trials confirm

Trauma focused therapy shows promise for children struggling with PTSD

School meals could drive economic growth and food system transformation

Home training for cerebellar ataxias

Dry eyes affect over half the general population, yet only a fifth receive diagnosis and treatment

Researchers sound warning about women with type 2 diabetes taking oral HRT

Overweight and obesity don’t always increase the risk of an early death, Danish study finds

Cannabis use associated with a quadrupling of risk of developing type 2 diabetes, finds study of over 4 million adults

Gestational diabetes linked to cognitive decline in mothers and increased risk of developmental delays, ADHD and autism among children

Could we use eye drops instead of reading glasses as we age?

Patients who had cataracts removed or their eyesight corrected with a new type of lens have good vision over all distances without spectacles

AI can spot which patients need treatment to prevent vision loss in young adults

Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, national study finds

Links between diabetes and depression are similar across Europe, study of over-50s in 18 countries finds

Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of its characteristics

Scientists trace origins of now extinct plant population from volcanically active Nishinoshima

AI algorithm based on routine mammogram + age can predict women’s major cardiovascular disease risk

New hurdle seen to prostate screening: primary-care docs

MSU researchers explore how virtual sports aid mental health

Working together, cells extend their senses

Cheese fungi help unlock secrets of evolution

Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking

Mental health effects of exposure to firearm violence persist long after direct exposure

Research identifies immune response that controls Oropouche infection and prevents neurological damage

University of Cincinnati, Kent State University awarded $3M by NSF to share research resources

Ancient DNA reveals deeply complex Mastodon family and repeated migrations driven by climate change

[Press-News.org] Today's children do engage in active play
What is the meaning and nature of active play for today's children in the UK?