Getting up for school in the morning is good for children’s health and increases the likelihood of them hitting physical activity targets, according to new research into the activity of 10- and 11-year-olds.
The study found that children were more likely to hit the government’s daily physical activity target of 60 minutes during the week than at the weekend.
Researcher Paul McCrorie told Tes Scotland that one possible explanation was that children lie in for longer at the weekend, leaving them less time to exercise.
He said previous studies had shown that children who actively travel to school have higher overall levels of physical activity.
Dr McCrorie, of the University of Glasgow, argued that to increase children’s activity levels, it must be made easier for them to walk or cycle to school. He called on councils to consider safe routes for active travel when building new schools.
Overall, however, the study - Objectively Measured Physical Activity Levels of Scottish Children (bit.ly/GUSactivity) - found that Scottish children took far less exercise than previous research had suggested.
Boys ‘get more exercise’
Only 11 per cent of the children - part of the Growing Up in Scotland longitudinal survey - hit the government target of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day, according to data obtained from 700 10- and 11-year-olds wearing monitors, usually strapped to the wrist or the waist. The research also found that if the children’s activity was averaged out over the course of the week, 60 per cent hit the target of an hour a day of MVPA, so Dr McCrorie recommended that both figures be published, to give the public “the full picture”.
Previous surveys which relied on children or parents reporting exercise levels painted a different picture: 73 per cent of youngsters were hitting the target (see box).
Dr McCrorie’s new data, gathered between May 2015 and May 2016, also showed that deprivation and gender were irrelevant when it came to whether or not the children hit the 60-minute target. However, boys were active for longer, undertaking an average of 78 minutes of MPVA per day, compared with 68 minutes for girls.
Dr Cecilia Oram, Smarter Choices coordinator for Sustrans Scotland, which promotes cycling and walking, said: “It is essential that Scotland invests more in safer routes to schools as well as introducing more children to walking and cycling. Travelling actively to school, be that on foot, by bike or on scooter, is a fantastic opportunity for children to increase physical activity levels every day.”
Aileen Campbell, minister for public health and sport, said the government had made a commitment to Scotland becoming the first “Daily Mile nation”, adding: “The proportion of schools offering two hours or periods of PE per week has increased from less than 10 per cent in 2004-05 to 98 per cent in 2016 - thanks to an £11.6 million investment. We have also invested £50 million in the successful Active Schools programme, along with a significant investment in new facilities.”
