Obese children find method to fool researchers

Jul 13, 2009 17:51 GMT  ·  By
Children participating in an exercise study cheat by clipping their pedometer on their dogs for better results
   Children participating in an exercise study cheat by clipping their pedometer on their dogs for better results

Concerned about the ever-increasing rate of obesity in children, researchers in east London have decided to conduct a study to determine how many steps of the recommended number young boys and girls took or ran. However, several 11 and 12-year-olds, all obese, found a way of cheating on the exercise study by clipping the pedometer researchers gave them on their dog’s collar, BBC informs.

In order to stay in perfect shape, a number of 12,000 steps a day suffice for girls who fit in the aforementioned age segment. Boys are advised to take or run for 15,000 in order to avoid becoming overweight and maintaining a good health. Clearly, the obese children included in the study found the perfect way to attain these figures without actually having to move a muscle to do so by attaching the pedometer on the collar of their pet dog.

Initially, researchers were amazed to see that the study group included several children who, despite being extremely active, continued to be overweight or obese, BBC says. However, being no strangers to subjects who always come up with workarounds to the tests (which can range from lying or downplaying the number of calories ingested daily to upping the time of exercise and, as noted here, attaching pedometers to dogs), researchers soon discovered the kids’ little trick for appearing more active than they actually were.

“About 200 children in east London were given pedometers to automatically count how many steps they walked and ran. Mile End Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine was surprised by the activity levels recorded in some obese children. Professor Nicola Maffulli said: ‘Then we realized they were attaching the pedometers to their dogs’ collars.’ The pilot study in Whitechapel required 11 and 12-year-olds to clip a pedometer to their waists, with researchers at the centre collecting the readings by satellite.” BBC says.

“But after a week we found there were some kids who were extremely active but still obese.” said Professor Maffulli adds. From this to finding the reason why this seemed so was just but a step – pun intended. Apparently, those who cheated had every reason to do so, as the findings of the study revealed upon conclusion: girls walk or run only10,150 steps a day, instead of the recommended 12,000, while boys 12,620 steps, falling short of the recommended 15,000 steps a day. Moreover, says BBC, “that more than a third of 11 and 12-year-olds in the borough of Tower Hamlets are overweight or obese - 11% higher than the national average.”