1 . American children aren’t the only couch potatoes out there. Nearly one third of children in the world spend three hours a day or more watching TV or playing computers, according to a study of over 70,000 teens in 34 nations.

From Argentina to Zambia, Regina Guthold of the World Health Organization in Geneva and her colleagues found that most children aren’t getting enough exercise. “In terms of physical activity levels, we did not find much of a difference between poor and rich countries,” Guthold told Reuters Health. “Growing up in a poor country does not necessarily mean that kids get more physical activity.”

The study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, looked at 72,845 schoolchildren aged 13 to 15 from Africa, North and South America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

The researchers defined enough physical activity as at least an hour of exercise outside of gym class at least five days a week. Children who spent three or more hours a day watching TV, playing computer games, or chatting with friends — aside from time in school or time spent doing homework — were considered as sedentary. The researchers found only one quarter of the boys and 15 percent of the girls were getting enough exercise by these definitions. A quarter of the boys and nearly 30 percent of the girls sat too much and didn’t get enough exercise.

Children in Myanmar were the least sedentary, with 13 percent of boys and 8 percent of girls classified as sedentary.

Girls were less active than boys in every country except for Zambia. Uruguay had the highest percentage of active boys, at 42 percent, while Zambia had the lowest, at 8 percent. Girls from India were the most active, with 37 percent meeting exercise definitions, while girls from Egypt were the least active, with just 4 percent getting enough exercise.

While the study didn’t look at the reasons behind the lack of physical activity in various nations, Guthold guessed that urbanization (城市化) could be a factor as well as being able to use cars and TVs. She said schools can help children become more active by having physical education classes and educating students about the importance of exercise.

2 . SYDNEY - Fresh from winning a silver medal at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, China’s head coach Zheng Wei remained clear-minded about the latest achievement and expected her team to continue to grow. At the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup, China reached their first semifinals in major competitions in almost three decades before losing to the United States in the final to pocket a silver medal for the second time in history.

Sydney is not an unfamiliar place to Zheng. In 1994, as a basketball player, she and her teammates finished runners-up (亚军) at the formerly known FIBA World Championship for Women. Zheng said that Sydney is a “blessed land” for the Chinese women’s basketball team.

The 59-year-old was appointed(任命) head coach in May after working as an assistant coach within the team for more than a decade. She believed that the new role means a different working style. “While I was an assistant coach, I took care of the players. But now I have to be strict with them so that they could give full play to their potential,” she said.

Zheng is still aware of the gap between China and those strong sides, especially the United States, who have won the World Cup four times in a row. “The sport of basketball is developing in these years. The pace is faster with more physical contact and more flexibility in player positions, as we can see from the United States,” she said.

“There is a gap (间隙) separating us and those powerhouses on the global stage,” said the coach, adding that they would learn lessons from each match to improve. A positive Zheng stressed that the team is quite young, with an average age of below 26. “That means they still have room to improve,” she said. “They don’t have much experience in major international events. Given enough time, they will go further.”

3 . Non-native animals are doing great damage to local economies and ecosystems. Governments try to use all kinds of ways to keep these animals from going into their places. Some local governments try to make removing invasive(侵入的) species by holding contests with prizes for whoever can catch the most of these animals. In 2022, for example, one fishing contest will be open to the public.

7 . International Sports Camps

With over 50 years of combined experience in providing great sports coaching for children, International Sports Camps gives young players the chance to take their game to the next level.

Basketball Camp

Our basketball camp is for players of all standards aged 5 to 15 and features excellent coaching from leading players and coaches, providing two hours of group instruction five days a week for players. Junior Stars program (5 to 11 years) and Senior Champions programs (12 to 15 years) are offered at the camp.

Tennis Camp

A carefully designed and integrated approach to the total tennis game since 1970. You will profit from and enjoy small group instruction, private lessons, singles and doubles match play, team tennis, and a tennis specific conditioning program. You will receive 2 to 2 1/2 hours of instruction daily and will be grouped by ability level.

Soccer Camp

The Soccer Program is an exciting new program designed just for International Sports Camps. You’ll be practicing the fundamental skills while also being able to put those skills into practice in game-like competition. Improve your game and put your abilities to the test against players from around the world.

Scuba Diving (潜水) Camp

Scuba diving is an extraordinary experience. This popular activity allows you to see an expansive and exciting underwater world in a new way. Our scuba program includes all of the classroom instruction and pool work during this week-long class. The only thing you have left to do is complete your open water dives to gain full certification. Those who choose this program will be required to complete video assignments before arrival.

8 . BEIJING, April7(Xinhua)--Chinese researchers have found that stroke(中风) survivors who practiced a seated form of Tai Chi had equal or greater improvement in their athletic ability than those participating in a traditional stroke rehabilitation exercise(康复训练).

The study published Thursday in the journal Stroke, mentions a sitting routine of Tai Chi exercises for people who had a recent stroke and experienced hand and arm weakness or partial paralysis(麻痹).

“We revised the Tai Chi movements for people who have weakness or partial body paralysis,” said Zhao Jie who is the lead author of the study. “It has been tailored so that participants can move one arm with the help of the healthy arm.”

The study was conducted at two traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Kunming. Researchers chose 160 adults with an average age of 63 years who had suffered their first-ever ischemic(缺血性的) stroke.

Among the participants, half were randomly assigned to the sitting Tai Chi program, and the other half were part of the control group that took part in a traditional stroke rehabilitation exercise program.

69 people in the sitting Tai Chi group and 65 people in the control group completed the 12-week training program and 4-week follow-up.

Those in the sitting Tai Chi group showed better hand and arm function and sitting balance control, and compared with the control group, they had significant reductions in symptoms of depression, better shoulder range of motion according to the study.

The results have shown that the mind-body practice is an effective way to strengthen balance, coordination(协调性), strength and flexibility, particularly for stroke survivors. with hand and arm weakness or partial paralysis, the researchers said.

9 . Barbara, 70, and me, at 71, have swum together for at least 50 years. We swim in a quiet cove (小海湾). It’s home to seagulls, a duck or two, and kayaks (独木舟) on occasion. The difficult summer drought of 2021 brought a burning sun that warmed the water. As the drought eased and the water cooled in late August, we decided to keep swimming. We have both read Bonnie Tsui’s Why We Swim, a fine book about cold-water swimming. We challenged ourselves to swim for as long as possible through September and into October.

I have long loved swimming, though the fear of being seen as fat has dogged me. I am one of those female bodies poorly displayed in bathing suits. Cold-water swimming deepened my sense of well-being and let me use my body. It became a ritual Barbara and I embraced as swimming sisters. When she returned to the United States immediately after our Canadian Thanksgiving, I did not know how I could continue our cold-water tradition. I wasn’t prepared to freeze alone.

But, I had to swim; there were larger commitments I should stick to. In the summer, we planned to cross from the cove to an island across the lake. I had to stay fit. We also planned to host a cold-water swimming race for locals in the fall. We would make it an annual event, improving our strength and endurance (耐力) so that, in our 80s, we might swim through October and into November.

With these plans in mind, I joined my local city pool. I had not been in a public pool for about 30 years. But my body said swim, my brain said swim and my heart, could not let go. So I went anyway.

I am swimming. I am alive to my love of the water, alive to my promise for the spring and the summer that will come. I intend to step back into the lake in May, and through September and October with Barbara. We are perfectly matched in our devotion, and increasingly aware of the miracle of being able-bodied enough to share the cold-water wonder side by side.

10 . Jeff Yoo, 35, from Canada started to post his climbing videos on Instagram in 2017 to share them with others. However, he closed his account to focus on his full-time work as an emergency doctor near the beginning of March 2020.

Yoo uses social media as a mental escape from stress working in the emergency room and to connect with other climbers around the world. But during the first COVID-19 wave, he and other climbers were criticized on the Internet for continuing to climb during the global lockdown. “At that time, social media contributed more stress to my life. Every time I opened the app, it added more stress to my already stress-filled life,” Yoo said. But due to his desire to continue sharing his passion for climbing and connect with others, Yoo reopened his Instagram account two or three weeks later.

Unlike most accomplished and full-time climbers who had begun training at a young age, Yoo got into the sport at the age of 25. Yoo thought that his story could serve as an example to prove that it’s possible for people who work other full-time jobs to also climb and go on wild adventures.

More importantly, Yoo, who was born in Canada with parents from South Korea, has always struggled to be a positive role model for younger ethnic minorities in his community. They often do not have equal opportunities to participate in organized sports or outdoor activities like climbing. “Asians are often misrepresented in North American culture and TV and I hope that my abilities in climbing and contributions as a doctor will positively represent Asians,” Yoo said.