It’s one of my greatest fears that my children will grow into obese adults. Not because of the stigma, rather the associated health problems. We all think we’re invincible when we’re young, but at 30-something I’m slowly realising that I was lucky to get away with some of the things I did in my teens. Now, I’m living a largely sedentary life as a blogger & social media addict which is catching up with me and playing havoc with my waistline. It’s something I plan to tackle big time in 2018.
The importance of leading an active lifestyle is constantly fed to us, if not by the media then as a consequence of trying to keep up with our friends and co-workers. The UK has seen a dramatic increase in gym memberships over the last few years - rising by 5.1% between March 2016 and March 2017. It might seem small, but it does seem that we’re trying to lead healthier lifestyles. Yet given our little ones aren’t likely to don the Lycra and jump on an exercise bike, can we really say the same for our children?
According to a report by The Guardian, 75% of children spend less time outside than prison inmates. Given our prisoners receive a minimum of 60 minutes outdoor exercise daily, this means the vast majority of our children play outdoors for less than 60 minutes a day. It seems the temptation and (let’s face it) convenience of devices are winning over good old fashioned outdoor play, and perpetuating the obesity problem that our nation’s parents appear to be trying so hard to overcome.
Further compounding this, a recent study reported by The Guardian shows that children today now spend just half the time their parents did playing outside. Children today play outdoors for approximately four hours a week, while their parents were outdoors for a total of 8.2 hours per week on average. When we think back to our own childhoods, the disparity is clear. We didn’t have the lure of advancing technology to contend with, and likely spent a great deal of our childhoods down the local park on our bikes or building dens.
Childhood obesity & activity
We are forever hearing that we’re failing our children. Childhood obesity here in the UK is rife, and cannot be blamed wholly on the diets of our children. Rather childhood inactivity is visibly affecting the younger population - after all, it’s surely no coincidence that our children are developing weight problems at approximately the age when their interest in technology will pique.
Want proof?
Well data from 2006/07 shows that 10% of children at reception year were obese; in 2014/15, this figure had marginally reduced to 9%. However, in contrast, 19% of children in Year Six of school were obese in 2014/15, up from 18% in 2006/07. So you might want to rethink having Santa buy them that Xbox One for Christmas.
How do these obesity rates align with childhood physical activity?
In 2008, 28% of boys did 60 minutes or more physical activity daily, falling to 21% in 2012. For girls, the same time period saw a 3% decrease, from 19% to just 16%.
Yet the data is most worrying among boys aged 11-12 who have the largest proportion of low activity of all male age groups. Girls are least active between 13 and 15 years old. Seemingly, the older children are, the less physical activity they will undertake. This surely underlines the importance of encouraging outdoor play and regular physical activity in the early years of a child’s life, instilling a healthy lifestyle mentality when they’re young that will hopefully continue as they transition into their early teens.
The importance of outdoor play
All the above surely proves that UK children can benefit from spending more time playing outside on a daily basis. Outdoor play is a fundamental part of growing up, offering countless benefits for a child’s development. It’s something that adventure playground specialist Infinite Playgrounds are huge advocates of.
Whilst it goes goes without saying that you would not want your child to come to any harm, bumps and scrapes are a natural part of growing up. In fact, learning to confront risk is an important part of their development. Playgrounds are a great way safely navigate risky situations they wouldn’t otherwise face owing to the potential for light falls and bumps as they jump and climb.
Outdoor playgrounds also stimulate social development far better than indoor play as the size and variety of the equipment tend to see children exploring larger projects – be these construction-based or en masse role-play. This should help them foster an appetite for creativity & interactivity with peers that will serve them greatly as they grow up.
