Women Get Inadequate Exercise Post Having Children

Children are stopping their mothers from getting much needed workouts

Highlights:

Physical activity has a lot of advantages like weight loss, improvement of mental health and preventing diseases
Mothers are busy taking care of their children that they cannot make time for physical activity
In a recent study, it was observed that mothers with children younger than four years of age got an average of 18 minutes of exercise a day

Mothers do not get a lot of physical activity after having children is a known fact. However, a new study quantifies the extent and proves the statement.

Physical activity has many health benefits. It decreases the risk of multiple physical health outcomes, ranging from various cancers to cardiovascular disease. It is also associated with weight maintenance, better mental health, and the mitigation of the negative effects of sedentary behavior. There are additional potential benefits of physical activity for parents. These include increased confidence in the ability to cope with the daily challenges of being a parent, and strengthening parent-child relationships through co-participation ().

Mum’s Physical Activity Level Depends on Their Kids
Root cause of declining physical activity in mum’s life is directly linked to number and ages of their children.

‘While it is known that mothers don’t get a lot of physical activity, it has now been quantified as to how little they get.’

A new study shows that mothers in the UK with kids aged four and under managed 18 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a day, while those with children older than 4 years got around 26 minutes ().

Researchers found that less than half of mothers meet the recommended levels of exercise, regardless of the age of their children. This may not come as a huge surprise to anyone who takes care of their children around the clock.

"It is perhaps not unexpected that mothers who have young children or several children engage in less intense physical activity, but this is the first study that has quantified the significance of this reduction," said researchers.

New Moms Can Ease Back With Less Structured, More Flexible Workouts
Encouraging new moms to fit into any kind of physical activity could be the best approach for easing back after giving birth.

There were 848 participants in the study. The women were aged 20 to 34, and were recruited between 1998 and 2002. The researchers followed up with them over the years.

Age of the Child and Mother’s Workouts

Having a second or more children altered the average for the moms of school-age kids, who got about 21 minutes of exercise daily. Mothers with multiple kids under age 5 didn't fit the mould, doing more light-intensity activity than those with children of school-age, the investigators found.

Regardless of whether their children were school-age or younger, fewer than 50% of mothers got the recommended 150 minutes per week of exercise.

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There is more that needs to be done by local government planners and leisure facility providers to support mothers in engaging in physical activity.

When there are small children, the parental responsibilities can be all-consuming and often it becomes hard to make time outside of time spent caring for your children. Exercise is therefore often one of the first things to fall by the wayside, and so most of the physical activity mothers manage to do seems to be of a lower intensity.

Regular Exercise during Pregnancy can Keep Your Placenta Healthy
Is it safe to exercise during pregnancy? Yes, exercising regularly during pregnancy can keep your placenta healthy and also improve your metabolism.

Mothers do manage more physical activity when their kids go to school, according to researchers. There are a number of possible reasons why this might be the case, including more opportunities to take part in higher-intensity activities with their children; you may return to active commuting; or feel more comfortable using time to be active alone.

Policies and interventions are needed to encourage mothers with younger or multiple children to engage in more physical activity, ensuring that they benefit from health gains associated with higher intensity activity.

References:

World Health Organization.Physical activity.World Health Organization 2020 - (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity)
The association between number and ages of children and the physical activity of mothers: Cross-sectional analyses from the Southampton Women’s Survey - (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276964)

Source-Medindia