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B: Conduct A Survey
Work with a partner and fill out this short survey.

Reading Activities

A: Understanding The Main Idea
Today's first article is about a study of children. Read Part One of today's article very quickly and answer the two questions:

1. What was the subject of the study? How much ________ children get.
2. Look at the pie charts. Which one shows the result of the study? i.___, ii.____ or iii.___?

3. The word 'nearly' is used in the headline. How does it change the number it describes?

Part One

Nearly third of children globally are couch potatoes

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters Life!) - American children aren't the only couch potatoes with nearly one third of children globally spending three hours a day or more watching TV or on computers, according to a study of over 70,000 teens.

From Argentina to Zambia, Regina Guthold of the World Health Organization in Geneva and her colleagues found most children aren't getting enough exercise and it made no difference if they lived in a rich or a poor country.

(Continued.../)

B: Complete A Table
Read Part Two of today's article. Complete the gaps in the table:

Number of children in study:
Ages of children in study:
Number of countries in study:
Years children were studied:
Results of study published in:

Part Two

(Continued.../) "With regards to physical activity levels, we did not find much of a difference between poor and rich countries," Guthold told Reuters Health. "Growing up in a poor country does not necessarily mean that kids get more physical activity."

The study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, looked at 72,845 schoolchildren aged 13 to 15 from in 34 countries from North and South America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The children were surveyed between 2003 and 2007.

(Continued.../)

C: Vocabulary
The words below are from Part Three of today's article. Look at the words in context and decide which is the closest meaning; i., ii. or iii. Do not use a dictionary!

1.	*define*		2.	*sedentary*
		i. describe ii. talk about something iii. say what a word means			i. sitting or doing very little exercise ii. doing lots of exercise iii. feeling very comfortable

3.	*active*		4.	*aside*
		i. moving your body ii. resting iii. enjoying hobbies			i. next to ii. except for iii. as well as

5.	*adequate*
		i. too much ii. too little iii. enough

Part Three

(Continued.../) The researchers defined adequate physical activity as at least an hour of exercise outside of gym class at least five days a week.

Children who spent three or more hours a day watching TV, playing computer games, or talking with friends -- aside from time in school or time spent doing homework -- were classified as sedentary.

The researchers found only one quarter of the boys and 15 percent of the girls were getting enough exercise by these definitions.

A quarter of boys and nearly 30 percent of girls were sedentary and didn't get enough exercise with girls less active than boys in every country aside from Zambia.

Uruguay had the highest percentage of active boys, at 42 percent, while Zambia had the lowest, at 8 percent.

Girls from India were the most active, with 37 percent meeting exercise recommendations, while girls from Egypt were the least active, with just 4 percent getting adequate exercise.

Children in Myanmar were the least sedentary, with 13 percent of boys and 8 percent of girls classified as sedentary. The most sedentary nations were St. Lucia and the Cayman Islands, with 58 percent of boys and 64 percent of girls spending at least three hours a day in sedentary activities.

(Continued.../)

Article © 2010 Thomson Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2010 www.english-to-go.com

D: Interpreting Results
1. Look at the graphs and label the results with 'boys' and 'girls'.

2. Look at the graph and label the countries.

3. Check your guesses from Pre-Reading Activity A3.

Part Four

(Continued.../) While the study didn't look at the reasons behind the lack of physical activity in various nations, Guthold speculated that urbanization could be a factor as well as access to cars and TVs.

She said schools can help children become more active by having physical education classes and educating students about the importance of exercise.
Adding lanes for bicycles, pedestrian crossings and other changes to promote walking and biking to and from school could help too, she added.

"Even with the limitations that questionnaire data (suffer) from, I guess it's pretty safe to say that we have a huge problem with physical inactivity among schoolchildren around the globe and that we should take action," said Guthold.

Article © 2010 Thomson Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2010 www.english-to-go.com

Post-Reading Activities
You may do one or more of these.

A: Talk About It
You are going to practice asking and answering questions. Work in pairs.

Student A: You have just read the article about the couch potato study. Tell Student B about it.
Student B: You did not read the article. Student A will tell you about the results of the report. Ask Student A some questions.

Start your conversation like this:
Student A: Did you read that article about children being couch potatoes?
Student B: No, what did it say?

B: Survey
Conduct your own survey about physical activity. Look at the survey in the Pre-Reading Activities for some ideas. Write down some questions and survey students in your class or school. Then prepare a short written report summarizing your findings. In the report you could include some or all of these ideas:

C: Extra Reading
Here is an article about how gyms are becoming popular for children in Britain. What ideas in it make it similar to the ideas in today's article?

Britain's kids sweat it out in new mini-gyms

POTTERS BAR, Mon Jul 31, (Reuters) - Maddie Bradley has just done an hour's workout.

She warmed up, did cardiovascular training on a treadmill, rowing machine and cross trainer, then moved on to fixed weight machines for leg extensions, lateral pull-downs and shoulder presses, finishing up with abdominal work on an exercise ball.

"I just want to get fit," she says. She goes to the gym five times a week. She is 9 years old.

Bradley's parents suggested she join this gym in Potters Bar, southeast England, to help make new friends when they moved into the area.

She is now one of a growing band of children across Britain -- some as young as 5 -- who have been bitten by the gym bug.

With child-sized treadmills, exercise bikes and resistance weight machines, mirrors on the wall and pop music pumping out, this gym in Potters Bar looks and feels just like its larger adult version.

Children are attracted by its grown-up feel, but also say they want somewhere to go with their friends, somewhere to do some new kinds of exercise.

At least 80 such gyms have opened in Britain in recent years, and one of the leading kid gym companies, Shokk, says it alone is opening new ones at a rate of around three a month...

BATTLING OBESITY
Supporters of the gyms say they help fight childhood obesity and provide a safe place for children to spend time with their friends and get some exercise.

A rising fear of crime in the wake of some gruesome child abductions and murders in recent years means Britain's parents are increasingly fearful when their children play outside.

And with children spending an average of four hours a day in front of television or computer screens, some are increasingly keen to offer them a more active alternative.

According to the government, 15 percent of Britain's 5 million children aged between 2 and 11 are obese and a similar number are overweight.

"SHRINES TO THE SELF"
But critics have condemned the gyms as "shrines to the self" and say they will encourage narcissism among young people rather than foster a culture of team effort.

Dr Dee Dawson, medical director of the Rhodes Farm clinic for children with eating disorders in north London, says it is "ridiculous" for children to be working out in gyms.

"It's not a good idea at all. It encourages obsessive compulsive behavior ... and it's just not fun," she said.

"Children used to exercise all the time -- they walked to school, played games outside, rode their bicycles. They didn't sit in front of computers and TVs and get driven to school like they do now. That's why we have so much obesity now.

"Exercise is really important, but it should be fun. It should be part of a group, it should be playing basketball, volleyball, badminton, or something else where they are enjoying themselves in a team and meeting new people."

TEACHERS' NOTES AND ANSWER KEY

Reading Activities

A: Understanding The Main Idea - Answers
1. exercise, 2. iii, 3. It means that almost a third of children are couch potatoes, not exactly a third, or a little less than.

B: Complete A Table - Answers
Number of children in study: 72,845
Ages of children in study: 13 to 15
Number of countries in study: 34
Years children were studied: 2003 - 2007
Results of study published in: The Journal of Pediatrics.

C: Vocabulary - Answers
1. iii, 2. i, 3. i, 4. ii, 5. iii.

D: Interpreting Results - Answers
1. 25% boys getting enough exercise
15% girls getting enough exercise
30% girls not getting enough exercise
25% boys not getting enough exercise
2. girls getting enough exercise India 37% Egypt 4%
boys getting enough exercise Uruguay 42% Zambia 8%
3. i. boys, ii. there is little difference, iii. Answers will vary.

E: Check Your Guess - Answer
By having exercise classes and teaching children about why they need to be active. Cycle lanes, pedestrian crossings etc would also help to encourage walking and biking to/from school.