The World's Fittest Children Are From Tanzania, Study Reveals

A 20-year long study reveals that the world's fittest children are from Tanzania and the least fit children are from Mexico. The study was represented by countries from Australia, United States, Northern Europe, African countries, South American countries, United Kingdom and some Asian countries.

In the previous study in 2004, Iceland had the fittest children in the world. On the other hand, they have been dropped to second place in the new study. Tim Olds, the professor from the University of South Australia and the co-author of the study exclaimed that they got a new champion. He said that the fittest kids in the world are from Tanzania followed by Iceland, Estonia, Norway and Japan. He also enumerated the least fit kids that came from Mexico, Peru, Latvia, United States, and Korea, according to The Voice.

The findings of the study were published in the British Journal Sports Medicine. It was led by international researchers from Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and the University of North Dakota. The team examined the aerobic fitness levels of children and youth from 50 countries, according to Science Daily.

The study involved 1.1 million children aged 9 to 17 years from the 50 countries. The researchers analyzed their 20-meter shuttle data known also as the beep test, which is the well-known field-based test of aerobic fitness levels of children and youth. Prof. Olds said that it is a test where a kid's run 20 meters, a 20-meter shuttle run test back and forth at a faster and faster pace till they cannot go further. The findings of the test correlate with some laboratory tests.

Dr. Grant Tomkinson, the senior author of the study and the associate professor at the University of North Dakota said that if all the kids in the world were to line up for a race, the average American would finish at the foot of the field. On the other hand, he further said that Canada fared moderately well placing just above the middle pf the pack. He then added that the study is the largest of its kind so it is exciting to have this evidence at hand.