After-School Clubs 'Vital for Children's Health'

After-School Clubs 'Vital for Children's Health'

Children should be encouraged to take part in activities and sport outside school to ensure they get enough exercise, says new research.

A study in the journal BMJ Open found that the amount of time allocated for exercise in primary schools is not enough for children to meet the recommended 1 hour of physical activity each day set by the UK’s chief medical officers.

The UK Childhood Obesity strategy recommends that primary schools should provide at least half-an-hour per day for physical activity, including school sport, break times and extracurricular activities.

Sport and Playing in the Neighborhood

Researchers from the University of Bristol found that topping up after school and at weekends with activities, sport and playing with friends could boost physical activity and help combat the growing problem of childhood obesity.

The study, based on 1,223 pupils aged 8 to 9 from 47 state-funded primary schools found that:

• Children who went to clubs involving sport and other forms of exercise on 5 days each week are 67% more likely to meet the recommendation for an hour of physical activity each day

• Children who regularly attended after-school physical activity programmes got around 7.5 minutes more of physical activity each day than children who do not attend

• Playing in the neighbourhood or in the garden is associated with similar increases in physical activity as going to after-school clubs

• The more types of activity at school, outside of school and in the neighbourhood in which children engage, the more likely they are to meet recommendations for exercise

Research has shown that after-school clubs for primary school children in the UK tend to be dominated by team-based sports, such as football and rugby. The study authors say that increasing the range of opportunities on offer to include non-competitive activities could increase the number of children taking part.

Sit Less and Move More

Advice from the UK’s chief medical officers is that children aged 5 to 18 should be encouraged to sit less and move more. They say activity should be spread throughout the day and these activities should make you breathe faster and feel warm.

They say physical activity for young people:

• Builds confidence and social skills

• Develops co-ordination

• Improves concentration and learning

• Strengthens muscles and bones

• Improves health and fitness

• Maintains healthy weight

• Improves sleep

• Makes you feel good

Childhood Habits ‘Last a Lifetime’

Dr Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the BMJ study, comments in a statement: “This research should give impetus to parents and teachers to give children opportunities to be physically active throughout the day, whether it’s encouraging them to attend an after-school club or replacing screen time with a run around in the park.

“Habits developed in childhood can last a life time. Encouraging more children to stay active outside of school will undoubtedly improve the future cardiovascular health of our population.”

SOURCES:

Associations between participation in organised physical activity in the school or community outside school hours and neighbourhood play with child physical activity and sedentary time: a cross-sectional analysis of primary school-aged children from the UK, Jago R et al, BMJ Open

Physical activity for children and young people (5-18 years), UK chief medical officers’ guidelines

British Heart Foundation

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