WEDNESDAY, Dec. 24, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- If your kid's a couch potato, there's a good chance she will be sick more often, Canadian researchers report.
They found children who spent more time in sports activities and had higher aerobic fitness reported fewer sick days, while children with body fat higher than 25 percent reported significantly more sick days.
The study by researchers at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, also found evidence that connected reduced physical activity and excess body fat to more instances of upper respiratory tract infections. Their findings appear in the December 2003 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology.
Sixty-one fifth graders from three randomly selected schools in southwestern Ontario were monitored for physical activity, body fat and upper respiratory tract infections.
The researchers found that the less active children had significantly lower aerobic power and higher body fat. Those children also reported significantly more sick days and more days with cold and flu symptoms.
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