Exercise: UK children are near the bottom of global league table for active youngsters

Day-to-day exercise is “largely disappearing from young people’s lives”, an expert has said, as new data shows England and Wales rank near the bottom of a world league table on how much children move.

The study, published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and covering 44 countries, shows England, Wales and Scotland performing poorly on markers such as day-to-day exercise like brisk walking, while not all children have breakfast on a school day.

While there have been improvements in areas such as children eating daily fruit and vegetables, youngsters are still not consuming enough to meet healthy eating recommendations. Furthermore, there are stark differences – particularly in the UK – between children from affluent families and those who are poorer, with youngsters from poorer backgrounds far less likely to eat well or exercise.

The survey looked at the lives of children aged 11, 13 and 15 living in Europe, Central Asia and Canada. It included more than 4,000 children in England, 4,000 in Scotland plus children in Welsh schools.

The data showed that 30 per cent of girls and 18 per cent of boys in England are inactive across all age groups surveyed, while the figure in Wales is 27 per cent for girls and 17 per cent for boys. In Scotland, 21 per cent of girls are inactive, alongside 12 per cent of boys.

By age 15, just 11 per cent of girls and 16 per cent of boys in England do at least 60 minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, which can include things like brisk walking, cycling or rollerblading.

The figure was seven per cent of girls and 16 per cent of boys in Wales and 12 per cent of girls and 21 per cent of boys in Scotland. The figures put England and Wales near the bottom of the global table, and below Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Croatia.

Things are better for more vigorous activity, such as team sports, but the UK still performs below the average for all countries in the study.

Dr Jo Inchley, international co-ordinator for the study, called Health Behaviour In School-Aged Children, and from the University of Glasgow, told the PA news agency: “In the UK, we’re consistently low on physical activity. We do see relatively high levels of young people involved in what we call vigorous activities, that might be sort of organised sports… But we’ve got big gender differences and big socio-economic differences.

“At age 15, we’ve got two thirds of boys in the UK, roughly, who are taking part in vigorous physical activity four or more times a week, but only a third of girls. So that’s twice as many boys as girls. On more day-to-day moderate to vigorous physical activity, where the heart is beating a little bit faster but it’s not high-impact exercise, that’s largely disappearing from young people’s lives.

“So previously, when young people would have spent a lot of time outdoors just playing in the local streets or walking to friends’ houses or going to the park, that (figure) would have been a lot a lot higher. Now we’re really seeing that coming down very low. I think that’s quite worrying because that can have a big impact on young people’s health and wellbeing.”

When it comes to eating breakfast before school, which experts say is a good healthy eating habit for children, some 37 per cent of 13-year-old girls and 59 per cent of boys in England eat breakfast on weekdays, while the figure is 33 per cent and 54 per cent respectively in Wales and 36 per cent and 61 per cent in Scotland. This is below other countries including Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and Norway.

Girls in England, Wales and Scotland are less likely to eat breakfast than the average for all countries in the study. By age 15, just 35 per cent of girls in England eat breakfast daily on weekdays (below average for all countries), as do 51 per cent of boys.

When it comes to fruit, 46% of girls and 43% of boys aged 11 in England eat fruit daily, as do 38% of girls and 35% of boys in Wales and 54% of girls and 52% of boys in Scotland.

NationalWorld’s medical expert Professor Robert Thomas, who is a consultant oncologist, said: “This is sad news - exercise is one of the most important lifestyle strategies to improve physical and mental health both now and in the future. When a child, teenager or adult exercises over 100 positive biochemical changes happen in the body, all of which improve our wellbeing.”

Among the changes are:

• Reducing excess inflammation
• Improving oxidative pathways which protect our DNA from environmental dietary carcinogens
• Enhancing the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut improving digestion and absorption of essential nutrients
• Supporting insulin pathways
• Improving the expression of the genes which protect us from disease

Professor Thomas added: “For these reasons children who exercise regularly are less likely to have time off school through illness and have better health for the rest of their life. They are also more likely to a normal weight, sleep better, have less fatigue and be more motivated to participate in other healthy activities  such as eating well and taking part in competitive sport. This bad news hopefully will trigger school and councils to invest more in community exercise and sports programmes.”

Dr Inchley said: “I think we’re seeing a trend in the UK… decreases in breakfast consumption over time. That is worrying because that means young people are going to school without having anything to eat, which will affect their ability to learn and concentrate.

“It’s particularly low for 13 to 15-year-old girls – less than about 40 per cent having breakfast every day on school days – and that’s definitely an area of concern. Breakfast consumption sets you up for the day and is associated with a range of positive health outcomes and educational outcomes. More generally, I think it speaks to kind of healthier eating pattern, which of course then links to overweight and obesity as well.”

Dr Inchley also pointed to stark differences in the report between more affluent and less affluent families. She said: “Almost twice as many young people from high socio-economic groups are eating vegetables, for example, compared with lower socio-economic groups. That is a massive difference. I think poverty must be a massive driver behind that.

“Also, young people growing up in poorer areas may be less likely to be able to access fresh fruit and vegetables, it can be more costly for younger people to buy them, and there’s maybe sort of cultural barriers around preparing fresh meals every day and so on.”

She said it was positive that, over time, children seem to be eating more fruit and vegetables and there has been a drop in sugary drinks consumption.

Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said: “Regular physical activity, healthy eating habits and maintaining a healthy weight are essential elements of a healthy lifestyle. The report’s findings signal a need for targeted interventions to enable adolescents to adopt healthier behaviours and avoid habits that affect not only their current health and well-being, but also their future trajectories as adults.”

Other data in the study found 27 per cent of 11-year-old girls and 24 per cent of 11-year-old boys in England think they are too fat, as do 31 per cent of girls and 23 per cent of boys in Wales. By age 15, 43 per cent of girls and 29 per cent of boys in England think they are too fat, rising to 50% of girls and 30% of boys in Wales.