American kids failing fitness

American children are scoring failing marks in fitness because of the lure of the Internet, time-pressed parents and the culture of the car, fitness experts say.

Only one quarter of children aged 6 to 15 meet the current guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate physical activity per day, said Dr. Russell R. Pate, chairman of the non-profit National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) Alliance, which issued the first U.S. report card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

"Fifty percent of waking hours are spent in sedentary activity," said Pate, professor in the Department of Exercise Science in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina.

Fitness experts say it is up to parents and policy makers to get their children to be more active.