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By Kim Jae-heun
As more and more people exercise at home rather than at fitness centers, accidents involving home training equipment are increasing, particularly among children.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency, Monday, 207 accidents arising from the use of exercise equipment at home were reported between 2016 and 2018, meaning over 60 cases per year.
Children under the age of 10 took up 61.4 percent of the total cases, especially those between one to three years old as they lacked awareness of the dangers of the equipment.
In the accidents involving children under 10, 37.9 percent of the children sustained lacerations, followed by bruises with 25 percent and fractures with 15.3 percent.
Many of them hurt themselves on stationary bicycles, which accounted for 31.5 percent of all accidents, as children climbed on the equipment and fell. Dumbbells were the second-most dangerous for children, at 23.4 percent, and gym balls and treadmills, 19.3 percent.
The agency advised parents to keep the equipment inaccessible to children and make sure electric exercise equipment is turned off after use.
