Children and physical activity

Current activity levels and trends

Studies show that opportunities for children in the UK to be active are declining. Car journeys to school have doubled in the last 20 years with almost 30% of children going to school by car, less than 50% walking and just 1% cycling.[1]

The total time devoted to PE lessons in schools has declined in recent years, and less time is allocated to PE in secondary schools in England and Wales than anywhere else in the European Union.[2]

Only one-third of boys and girls aged 2-11 achieve the recommended level of activity to benefit their health through activity undertaken outside of school.[3]

Low levels of physical activity together with energy-dense diets (lots of soft drinks and snacks) are leading to rising rates of obesity among British children, increasing the risk of diseases including coronary heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

The priority groups

Studies of physical activity patterns suggest that priority groups for action are:

• young girls
• all adolescents
• children from minority ethnic groups, in particular Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian children.[4-6]

Children and young people must be involved in the development and implementation of new opportunities for physical activity in order that they reflect enthusiasms and preferences and encourage a high level of participation.

Recommended level of physical activity

It is recommended that children and young people should achieve a total of at least 60 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity each day.[7] At least twice a week this should include activities to improve bone health, muscle strength and flexibility.

The government has set targets to increase participation in sport by 5 to 16 year olds. They hope that the percentage of schoolchildren in England who spend a minimum of  two hours per week on PE and sport (within and beyond the curriculum) increases from 25% in 2002, to 75% by 2006, and to 85% by 2008.

They also hope to see, through the County Sports Partnerships, by 2008 an increase of 3% who participate in sport at least 12 times per year, and a 3% increase in the number who engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity sport, at least three times per week.

See young@heart policy framework for recomendations in support of children's physical activity.

Children need even more exercise?

Children should do at least 90 minutes exercise each day, according to the European Youth Heart Study [8] published in July 2006.

The current UK guidelines recommend an hour of exercise per day but the Physical activity and clustered cardiovascular risk in children: a cross sectional study, published in The Lancet (volume 368) recommends at least 90 minutes of moderate intensity exercise for young people.

The authors of the European Youth Heart Study looked at over 1,730 children, aged nine or 15 years, from schools in Denmark, Estonia, and Portugal. For each child they measured a combination of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including blood pressure, weight and cholesterol, to calculate a combined risk factor score. Over one weekend and two week days the children were asked to wear a monitor that measured how physically active they were. The researchers found that their risk score for cardiovascular disease decreased with increasing physical activity.

Professor Lars Bo Anderson, from the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo, and his team stress that the 90 minutes of daily exercise they are recommending for children does not have to be done in one chunk; it would be spaced over the day. For example, a child could walk or cycle to and from school, run around at lunchtime and play sports in the evenings and at weekends.

The Department of Health has said it will consider whether its guidelines needed to be reviewed following the study.

References