Over the past two decades overweight and obesity rates in Australia have doubled. Australia is now ranked one of the fattest developing nations. Even more concerning is that the obesity epidemic is not looking to change anytime soon, as it is not only affecting our adult population, but our children too. Around 20-25% of Australian children, aged 7-15 years are now overweight or obese.

Our nations’ future is only looking fatter.

Ironically, Aussie kids are more involved in sporting activities compared to any other nation in the world. Sports are part of our national identity, and 64-85% of our kids are involved in some kind of organised weekend or after school physical activity. So why are our children getting more and more overweight?

Despite high participation in sports, Aussie kids are still not reaching adequate levels of exercise. While sporting participation has gradually increased since the 1970s, other forms of physical activity (such as active transport and leisure time physical activity) are low and declining. Additionally, sedentary behaviours including tv watching and the use of electronic devices has significantly increased.

So, is sport enough? If we look at overall physical activity levels as well as obesity levels, then the answer is clearly no.

Although participation in sports allows multiple benefits above and beyond fitness and weight-management, including skill-development and team work, it cannot be considered enough weekly exercise for children. If you think about how much of each training session is spent listening to instructions, waiting for a turn or standing around learning new skills or game tactics, a lot of the time is not actually active. Research shows that less than 50% of time spent in organised sports is spent in moderate to vigorous intensity exercise.

I am all for encouraging children to play sport for the abundant physical, mental and social-emotional benefits provided, but more needs to be done.

Increasing incidental activity each day, including active transport to and from school, as well as completing unstructured outdoor activities with the family on weekends is encouraged. Breaking up long periods of time spent in front of the tv or engaged in other electronic media with active duties/games around the house is also recommended.

The Government has come on board and is providing $100 million for the recent Sporting Schools Initiative, which encourages children to take part in physical activity before, during and after school. The initiative aims to encourage participation in exercise programs to address the growing rates of overweight and obesity in our future generations. It will directly link schools with sporting clubs to assist the schools in running sporting programs.

Remember also that actions speak louder than words, and being a positive role model as a parent is of upmost importance.

Active parents lead to active children.

Currently, only 30% of fathers and 22% of mothers are meeting the recommended guidelines for physical activity. Studies show that the more tv parents watch, the more tv their children watch. More tv viewing is related to less activity, and inactivity and higher tv viewing are both associated with adverse health outcomes. Including exercise for the whole family into each daily routine will help children build positive lifestyle habits that last a lifetime.

Melissa Brodie

Accredited Exercise Physiologist

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071126105434.htm

http://www.science20.com/news_articles/inactive_children_influenced_their_parents

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/Publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-hlthwt-obesity.htm