A report by the Sport England suggest that one in three children does fewer than 30 minutes of exercise a day – this is half the amount recommended by the government.
The survey show that girls are less likely to be as active as boys with 13 to 16-year-olds being the least active age group. The survey was done by 130,000 five to sixteen-year olds and it found that ‘poorer’ families did the least exercise.
Sports Minister Mims Davies said the figures were “simply unacceptable”.
She said: We know that an active child is a happier child and efforts must be stepped up to encourage young people to live healthy, active lives”.
The guidelines by the chief medical officer says that children and young people should be doing at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. This should be 30 minutes of activities in school and 30 minutes outside of school.
The 2017-18 survey suggest that only 28% of children achieve the amount in school and only 22% outside of school.
Activities that fit into this include sporting activities, active play, walking, fitness activities, dance and using a scooter.
The survey also found:
- one in six children was active for 60 minutes every day
- one in four was active across the week, but didn’t do 60 minutes every day
- one in three did less than an average of 30 minutes a day
- children aged nine to 12 were the most active every day
- 20% of boys and 14% of girls were active every day
- the gap between girls’ and boys’ activity levels widens from the end of primary school
Tim Hollingsworth, chief executive at Sport England, said: “Parents, schools, the sport and leisure industry and government all have a role to play in addressing and increasing childhood activity. This research is the first of its kind anywhere in the world and is a big wake-up call for all of us.
“We all care about the health and wellbeing of our children. These results tell us that what is currently being done to support them is not enough and change is required.”
Dr Alison Tedstone, head of diet, obesity and physical activity at Public Health England said: “Physical activity is crucial for good physical and mental health of children and young people – this work is a timely reminder for everyone to do more to help them be more active.”
