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Immigrants kids even less active than U.S.-born

Immigrant children of all backgrounds get even less vigorous exercise than their U.S.-born counterparts.

Immigrant children of all backgrounds get even less vigorous exercise than their U.S.-born counterparts, the largest study of its kind suggests. A study led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Maternal and Child Health Bureau yielded plenty of earlier evidence shows that U.S. children are pretty inactive. The new study of nearly 70,000 children simply found even lower levels of activity among immigrants. Almost 18 percent of foreign-born children with immigrant parents got no vigorous exercise on any days of the week, and 56 percent didn't participate in organized sports. By contrast, 11 percent of U.S.-born children with American parents got no vigorous exercise, and 41 percent didn’t participate in sports. Given the obesity epidemic and immigrants accounting for about 13 percent of the U.S. population, researchers say it is important to know whether there are ethnic differences in physical activity and sedentary behaviors. A theory is that immigrant families surveyed were on the whole poorer than non-immigrants and lived in less safe neighborhoods. That means they likely had less time for exercise and sports, and worse access to places to engage in those activities. But also, many immigrant parents place a high emphasis on reading, language lessons, studying and other inactive pursuits. Earlier research found that immigrants tend to be less overweight and obese than people born and raised in the United States. That difference tends to wear off with longer exposure to U.S. culture including junk food and television. The new study also found that immigrant children generally watched less TV than American-born kids, although it did not look at obesity levels.