I’m a fan of MedPage today, but these folks are seriously under the copy-cranking gun and often publish summaries of studies absent of perspective. Today’s story, “After-School Soccer Little Help in Obesity Battle” is another example.
These kids and Michelle Obama are all wasting their time, MedPage Today reports.
The story reports a JAMA Pediatrics study. The study concluded that an after-school soccer program run by America Scores failed to produce weight loss among overweight and obese kids.
Turns out the study tracked the kids with accelerometers for all of a week and was, in other ways, statistically and structurally rickety. MedPage Today then drops the ball in failing to note that getting low-income kids together for some exercise has benefits beyond just weight loss — better general fitness and a sense of belonging among them.
From a recent America Scores presser:
America SCORES participants receive ten times more exercise than the national average and lower their BMI by 2% by the end of each season. Using soccer as a tool to encourage fitness, sportsmanship, and leadership, America SCORES inspires the life-long appreciation of sports and health-enhancing behaviors like choosing to eat more fruit and vegetables, participating in organized sports and spending less time watching television and playing video games.
Each year, America SCORES serves 7,500 students at 150 schools through fourteen affiliates located in major urban centers across the United States.
I’m familiar with America Scores because my over-30 coed soccer team plays indoor soccer against them. They’re very good and not obese in the least.
