Heart disease prevention starts during childhood, and the best way to help your child build a healthy cardiovascular system is to keep him active. One way to do this is to make sure he burns some calories getting to school in the morning.
A study, published in Medical News Today, shows that kids who walk to school instead of taking the bus are more resistant to the type of cardiac stress that can lead to heart disease later in life.
Kids walking to school have healthier hearts
Cardiac reactivity is a medical term that describes how much the heart speeds up and blood pressure levels rise in response to stress. It’s normal for heart rate and blood pressure to go up when the body is stress or challenged, but if the response is exaggerated or occurs in response to minor stressors, it could herald an increased risk of heart disease later in life.
Researchers found that kids who walked to school had lower cardiac reactivity scores when exposed to the stress of taking an exam than kids who rode to school in a car. On average, kids who rode to school had heart rate increases of eleven beats per minute during a short exam, while those who walked had an increase in heart rate of only three beats per minute – a significant difference.
Article continues below...
.
We Help Children Read. Learn. Achieve.
We offer fundamental solutions to learning disabilities –
Video: It’s life-changing! Edublox helps overcome learning challenges
Watch Naeleigh’s heart-warming story of overcoming learning challenges. While Edublox’s Development Tutor is improving her cognitive skills like concentration, processing, memory and reasoning, Live Tutor and additional homework exercises provided by Edublox address her reading, spelling and math deficits. Continue Reading
Ashlyn, mom of Naeleigh, US Edublox Online Tutor May 26, 2022
Video: Overcoming reading difficulties — Four children testify
Four children, Kelsey, Tshepo, Liam and Joshua share how struggling to read affected them, as well as how it feels now that they can read. Contact Edublox for help if your child struggles with similar problems.
Continue ReadingKelsey, Tshepo, Liam and Joshua Edublox Online Tutor March 5, 2022
Overcoming dyslexia: Elize tells her family’s experience
Elize tells her family's experience with Edublox. When her youngest daughter (now 25 years old) was in 4th grade, she realized her reading was not on par. The school said she should not worry. Continue Reading
Elize, mom of Marie-Louise Edublox Online Tutor March 5, 2022
Dyslexia & dyscalculia diary and video: “We can see her world getting bigger”
The whole Edublox system has helped Amy so much with reading and math, but it was hard for us to tell if it was helping her with this hidden, agonizing challenge. It certainly is! Continue Reading
Sandy, mom of Amy, US Edublox Online Tutor January 5, 2022
Video: Edublox’s online tutoring delivers demonstrable results
Dennis shares how Edublox is teaching his daughter Veronica to read after other programs had failed. She was diagnosed with apraxia. Apraxia is a neurological condition that makes certain motor movements difficult. It may affect speech and coordination, and may co-occur with learning disorders such as dyslexia and dyscalculia. Continue Reading
Dennis, Veronica's dad, US Edublox Online Tutor October 29, 2021
Dyseidetic dyslexia video: Measurable improvements in reading scores
Hilary shares her thoughts on "The Edublox Experience." Measurable improvements in standardized reading scores, confidence and fun. Continue Reading
Hilary, Rief's mom, US Edublox Online Tutor October 11, 2021
Video: Overcoming dyslexia and developmental delays
Vivienne was adopted from China at age 5. This video is about Susan helping her 11-year-old daughter overcome developmental delays, including dyslexia. They started with the Edublox program 13 weeks ago. This is their story. Continue Reading
Susan, Vivienne's mom, US Edublox Online Tutor August 22, 2021
“Carsten is reading 6 and 7 letter words and the most amazing part is he is spelling them as well!”
Now, after working with Susan and the Edublox program for the last 5 months, Carsten is reading 6 and 7 letter words and the most amazing part is he is spelling them as well! AMAZING! I never would have thought he would be spelling words that large so quickly. I asked his school teacher about what she has seen and she told me she’s seen a big difference... Continue Reading
Lisel Nielsen, Utah, US Edublox Online Tutor March 12, 2020
Video: Student with severe dyslexia improves from the 1st to the 55th percentile!
Meet Maddie, a 10-year-old who was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, moderate dyscalculia, ADHD and low IQ (low 80s). People who had evaluated her said that they had never seen dyslexia as severe as this before. Her parents had been told by more than one professional that Maddie would probably never read... Continue Reading
Kimberly, US Edublox Online Tutor May 23, 2019
“His ability to decipher words is phenomenal”
Kenny’s ability to spell now is stunning all of us. His ability to decipher words is phenomenal.... Kenny has learned that reading can be enjoyed and how to enjoy it... He is reading now on an above grade level average and scored above grade level on his State tests. Continue Reading
Donna, USA Edublox Online Tutor November 15, 2018
.
The changes in blood pressure were even more significant. Kids who rode to school had systolic blood pressure increases that were three times higher than kids who walked to school on foot. Walking to school seems to “train” the heart to deal more effectively with challenges.
The kids who walked to school also experienced less mental stress in response to taking an exam compared to the children who were escorted to school by car. These scenarios were reproduced in a laboratory using a treadmill and images of a neighborhood projected onto a screen to simulate walking to school and a comfortable chair with images of a neighborhood to mimic a ride to school.
Kids walking to school have more resilient hearts
Why is this decrease in cardiac reactivity so important? Researchers now know that heart disease begins in childhood, although the effects may not be seen until later in life. Staying active helps to reduce the heart’s response to stress, so it beats slower with less of a rise in blood pressure for a given level of stress. This may help to prevent excessive strain on the heart that’s a precursor to heart disease.
The bottom line?
Walking to school is a simple way to help children stay more active, but it isn’t the only one. All physical activity counts when it comes to reducing cardiac reactivity and the risk of heart disease. Encourage your child to stay off of the computer and spend time outdoors after school. Take family walks or bike rides – and give your child the task of walking the dog. Encourage him or her to participate in sports at school. All of these activities help to condition a child’s heart – and reduce the risk of heart disease later on.
.