We regularly read reports that sedentary lifestyles and periods of inactivity have been linked to high blood pressure and heart disease. Some of these reports even suggest that those who choose a sedentary lifestyle over exercise are at greater risk of developing a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot on the lungs.
Today, however, the BBC is reporting on the concerns health experts have over children who do not exercise enough and how lack of exercise can be linked with obesity and brain development. A recent study suggests that only 30% of children in England between the age of 2 and 15 get their recommended amount of exercise.
Leading medical experts have now issued new guidelines to parents on exercise for children under five. They recommend that toddlers should be active for at least 3 hours a day and that from birth babies should be encouraged to move around.
Dame Sally Davis, Chief Medical Officer, suggests that “for children who are not yet walking, there is considerable international evidence that letting children crawl, play or roll around on the floor is essential during the early years”. Dame Davis is of the view that what your children do in the early years matters to their health now and their development through childhood and adolescence and impacts on their disease profile in middle age and later life.
Professor Stevenson, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, supports Dame Davis by saying that “if a toddler spends too much time sitting passively in front of the TV then problems will be stored up for the future”.
Although a report in 2010 suggested that programmes to tackle obesity may need to focus more on food than exercise, it is clear that with the current obesity levels reaching critical numbers the health experts’ guidance issued today can only be a positive step in reducing childhood and adult obesity and therefore creating a more healthy society.
