Whether it’s a camping holiday in the countryside or a weekend bike ride, the experts are in agreement: the healthiest thing you can do as a family this summer is to simply step outdoors —and get moving.
To maintain a basic level of health, children aged 5 to 18 should get at least one hour of physical activity every day. However, new figures show that only 22 percent of children in England achieve this. In children under five, less than one in ten meet the guidelines for their age.
Children spend much time on social media, in front of computer screens, televisions and devices, putting them at an increased risk of conditions in later life, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Effects can be emotional too: numerous studies have found that British children are some of the unhappiest in the world. A recent international study put the UK 38th out of 48 countries for happiness of 15-year-olds.
The good news is that meeting the daily exercise and screen-time requirements can make a huge difference. Last week, a US study found that children who follow the government advice on physical activity, screen time and sleep have an 89 percent lower risk of being obese. Here, our experts show why it’s time to get your children and grandchildren to put down their iPhones, tablets and game controllers and get busy outside…
Leading neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield is a broadcaster and writer of numerous books including Mind Change, which looks at the effects of technology use on young minds. She says, “Studies have shown that physical activity can improve learning skills. We know that exercise can help the growth of brain cells. Recent data suggests that physically active children have more active brains. Researchers found that after 20 minutes of activity, children scored better in reading, spelling and maths, while just one active lesson at school resulted in a 21 percent reduction in the time teachers spent managing behaviour.
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