A new report from the American Heart Association says health levels in children are lower today than they were 30 years ago.

The researchers looked at data from the past 46 years. The statistics(统计数据) were from more than 25 million children in 28 countries. The research team found that on average, today’s children run one kilometer about one minute slower than their parents did thirty years ago. The figures were the same for boys and girls. The distance(距离) a child can run is becoming shorter by around half of one per cent every year. One of the biggest reasons for the slowdown in children’s running ability is obesity. Kids are overweight because they are eating too much and not exercising enough.

The researchers say their report is worrying. If children are becoming fatter and less fit, they will be less healthy in the future. Lead researcher Dr Grant Tomkinson said, “If a young person is generally unfit now, then he is more likely to develop conditions like heart disease later in life.” Dr Tomkinson said, “We need to help to encourage children and youth to develop fitness habits that will keep them healthy now and into the future. They need to choose different kinds of physical activities they like or think they might like to try, and they need to get moving.” He added, “Young people can keep fit in different ways. They can be   △   like a weightlifter, or flexible like a gymnast(体操运动员), or skillful like a tennis player.”