Children younger than eight need to be targeted to make sure they lead more active lives to combat the obesity 'time bomb,' according to a study involving researchers at the Universities of Strathclyde and Newcastle.

Their research study reveals that children are not spending enough time being active and that girls are already becoming more sedentary than boys by the age of eight.

More than 500 eight to 10-year-olds wore activity monitors, providing the researchers with a very accurate picture of how little time children spent being physically active. They were monitored for a range of actions from moving around, climbing stairs to running, playing games and skipping.

The researchers found that:

• children spent only 4% of awake time in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity- this is about 20 minutes per day, while the recommended amount for health is 60 minutes per day;
• At the age of eight, girls were already less active than boys - something known to occur at secondary school- but this study has shown that the difference in physical activity between boys and girls starts much earlier on;
• Older fathers tended to have less active children;
• Children who took part in sports clubs outside of school were significantly more active than those who did not;
• Parents who restricted access to television were shown to have children who were more active.

Professor John Reilly, of Strathclyde’s Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, was involved in the study. He said: “Physical activity is not only essential to wellbeing but also goes a long way to achieving a happy and fulfilling childhood. However, the children we studied had only a third of their recommended activity, far short of the level which is best for them.

“There is an urgent need for interventions, at home and at school, which will help primary school children become more physically active.”

Newcastle University’s Dr Mark Pearce led the study, funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative. He said: “Given the importance of physical activity in maintaining good health, we know we need to get our kids more active. What we hadn’t known until now is how young we need to be catching them, or the reasons that lay behind their lack of activity.

“Already at the age of eight, we are seeing girls being less active than boys. This is something which we know then gets worse as they approach their teenage years.

“One of the important things is that most girls don’t see sport as cool. We need to be tackling these issues earlier by encouraging girls to exercise, by providing a wider range of opportunities than are currently on offer and by ensuring they see positive female role models, particularly in the media.”

As to why the children of older fathers were found to be less active, Dr Pearce said: “We think there may be a variety of explanations for this such as older fathers reaching more senior posts and having to work longer hours or maybe seeing themselves in a more traditional role so spend less time in active play with their children.”

In the research programme, called the Gateshead Millennium Study, 508 children wore activity monitors for at least three days and their movement was registered which meant their activity levels were objectively measured. The data were then related to an accompanying questionnaire and data collected previously in this study which has been on-going since birth.

The researched has been published in the open access journal PLoS ONE.

The University of Strathclyde’s Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences is the largest Faculty in the University. It is delivering high quality education and internationally recognised research across a spectrum of disciplines including Law, Government and Public Policy, English, History, Languages, Social Work, Teacher Education and Psychological Sciences & Health. Major new investment is being made in areas of strength, in addition to a £29 million package to create a new hub for the Faculty on the University’s city-centre campus.

Further information

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at University of Strathclyde

20 June 2012