Child pulses up

Thursday November 14th, 2013

British children leaving primary school have average pulse rates significantly faster than children 30 years ago, researchers warned today.

The increase in pulse rate may be linked to growing levels of obesity and lack of fitness, researchers warn.

The study, reported today finds that girls have greater pulse rates than boys.

But, over the 30 years, boys' pulse rates have increased at twice the rate of girls.

This means the pulse of a boy, aged 9 to 11, is likely to be 2 beats a minute faster than it would have been three decades ago, researchers report in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Among girls the increase has been 1 beat a minute, bringing the average rate of a girl of this age to 82.2 beats a minute. Among boys it is 78.7 beats a minute.

Researcher Dr Leah Li, of the UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK, warned: “If an increase of 2 bpm in mean resting pulse rate in boys persists to the adult population, this could result in a 4% increase in coronary heart disease mortality among healthy men and a 2% increase in risk of developing diabetes among the over 65s."

Christopher Allen, of the British Heart Foundation, said the findings highlighted the need to improve fitness among children.

He said: “Parents, schools and the local community can all play a role in encouraging kids to be active from a young age. Helping our children to enjoy exercise will increase their overall fitness and protect their hearts as they grow up.” 

Helen Peters et al. Trends in resting pulse rates in 9–11-year-old children in the UK 1980–2008 Archives of Disease in Childhood 14 November 2013; doi:10.1136/archdischild-2013-304699 [abstract]

Tags: Child Health | Fitness | Heart Health | UK News

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