Texting the new rounders as lazy pupils risk health
Tuesday April 11 2006
Kennedy
PLAYING tag and rounders in the schoolyard has been replaced by unhealthy habits such as texting and eating crisps.
Old-fashioned favourite games which involve running outdoors are no longer popular with today's generation.
They are more likely to fill break times eating sweets, using technological gadgets or just hanging around the shops.
The proportion of school-age children in Europe who are obese has risen almost 50pc since the 1990s and will nearly double to 6.4 million by 2010. One-in-10 Irish children is now overweight, with 85pc of them eating an unbalanced diet.
Serious
Personal trainer Kate Bowes said the problem was "very serious". She said some of the fault lay with modern society.
"I have three children and they're not allowed to run in the schoolyard," she said.
"The school is afraid they will fall and a case will be taken. If they do run, they can get detention."
She warned that many children were storing up health problems because of their inactive lifestyles.
More than 50pc of bones are laid down between the ages of 8 and 18, helped by exercise. However, if children don't run or skip or play active games, they are at a higher risk of osteoporosis in later life.
Ms Bowes said that, unfortunately, many parents were in a 'catch-22' situation. They worked full-time and had little time left to play outdoors with their children.
Despite the efforts of some schools and sporting bodies, just one activity in the top five today involves exercise: football.
The results are from a survey carried out earlier this year by Sainsbury's supermarket.
"Our survey uncovered shocking results about children's activity levels at playtime," said Rob Crumble of Sainsbury's. "Especially when you consider the shocking levels of obesity."
In Ireland, 46.3pc of adult men are overweight, with 20pc obese. Almost 33pc of women are overweight with 15.9pc of these obese.
According to the international obesity taskforce, more than 25pc of 7- to 11-year-olds are either obese or overweight.
