75% of children in the North West aren't doing nearly enough physical activity
NEW research into child activity
rates reveals parents in the North West are unaware of how much activity
their child should be doing to stay healthy.
Over three quarters of school children in the North West are not doing
enough physical activity, according to a new study. The new research into
child activity rates in found that 76% of children are doing no more than 4
hours of out of school exercise each week.
The survey of over 2,000 parents, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF),
Diabetes UK and Tesco, also revealed that very few parents in the North West
know how much activity their children should be doing, with 85% admitting
that they don't know what the recommended guidelines are. 73% of parents
underestimate the amount of exercise their child needs, believing they only
need around 30 minutes a day. According to Public Health England:-
"all children and young people
{aged 5 to 18} should engage in moderate to vigorous intensity physical
activity for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours every day."
21% of parents say their child does no
more than an hour a week, with 10% saying they do none at all, putting them
at increased risk of being overweight and developing serious long term
health conditions in the future, such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Parents stated cost (33%) to be the biggest barrier to their children doing
more exercise outside of school. Parents also highlight that they would most
like to take children to gymnastics, horse riding and to martial arts if
they could afford to.
31% of parents believe the responsibility to ensure children get enough
exercise lies with their children's school. The 2002 Education Act states
that the Secretary of State is barred from ordering any school to devote a
certain period of time to any particular subject, including physical
education.
Catherine Kelly, Director of Prevention, Survival and Support at the British
Heart Foundation, explains:- "Being inactive can lead to a multitude
of health problems for children, including an increased risk of developing
Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in later life. The benefits of
physical activity outside of the classroom and within the community are
vast, and as well as benefitting their heart health, it's fun too!
That's why we are working with Diabetes UK and Tesco to deliver projects in
areas most at need across the UK, helping communities to get active, lower
their risk of developing these conditions and ultimately benefit the health
of children in the future."
Jenna Hall, Programme Director for the National Charity Partnership,
explains:- "East London is the first of 15 areas where the Partnership
will be running mass participation community projects and will encourage at
least 200,000 people to get active in its first year. These projects will be
run in areas that have a high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, high mortality
rates from cardiovascular disease, high levels of obesity and low levels of
activity rates."
The National Charity Partnership between Diabetes UK, BHF and Tesco was
announced earlier this year. Its aim is to help save lives, by helping
millions of people to eat better and get active, reducing their risk of
serious ill health in the future. This will help reduce people's risk of
cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, both of which are largely
preventable through healthy lifestyle choices. Through the money raised by
Tesco colleagues and customers, the partnership will deliver a variety of
preventative and informative initiatives.
For more information about the National Charity Partnership visit:-TescoCharityPartnership.Org.UK.
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