2. MEASURING DAILY ACTIVITY
Daily Activity
According to ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), children and youth should do one hour or more
of physical activity daily. Activity should be mostly aerobic, moderate to vigorous, physical activity but
should also include muscle-strenghtening and bone-strengthening activities.
The health benefits of an active lifestyle are, for instance, better cardiovascular condition and blood
pressure control, and improved glucose tolerance and bone health. Increased physical activity also helps
control weight and promote psychological well-being. Studies show that more active children report higher
levels of self-esteem, happiness, and life satisfaction and lower levels of anxiety, depression, stress, and
peer victimization.
Some authorities recommend that sedentary activities, for instance, television watching, surfing the
internet, playing video games, should be limited to two hours per day.
Sleep is important to children’s health, development and well-being. Children aged 5-11 need 10-11
hours of sleep and children and adolescents aged 12 or over need 8-9.5 hours. Poor or inadequate sleep
can lead to mood swings, behavioral problems such as hyperactivity, and cognitive problems that impact
on children’s ability to learn in school.
Measuring Daily Activity with Polar Active
Polar Active measures your daily activity automatically 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You only need to
wear the activity monitor on your wrist and go. When worn at night time, the activity monitor measures
also your sleeping time.
Activity Zones and Activity Bar
There are five different activity zones in the Polar Active: vigorous+, vigorous, moderate, easy, and very
easy. The activity bar displays achieved time in the moderate to vigorous+ zones. This helps you to
easily check when the daily activity target is fulfilled.
Activity in the other activity zones is visible in the activity diary. Sleeping time can be seen only in the
polargofit.com web service.
In the chart below you can see the recommendations and benefits of being active in different zones:
Activity Zone Example Activities Benefits Recommendation
Vigorous+
Fast running
• Improves maximum
performance and
cardiovascular fitness
• Helps improve speed
Be active for more than one
hour every day!
Being active in moderate to
vigorous+ zones fills up the
activity bar in your Polar
Active.
Vigorous
Basketball, soccer,
rollerblading,
jumping rope,
dancing
• Improves cardiovascular
endurance
• Promotes bone health
• Helps increase power
Moderate
Playground games,
gymnastics
• Helps maintaining a healthy
body weight
• Helps increase flexibility
Easy
Playing catch, slow
walking, stretching
It’s better to get up and move than sit still!
Very easy
Playing video
games, watching
TV
Avoid sitting for long periods of time!
ENGLISH
Measuring Daily Activity 5
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