Kids Fitness Crisis

The point is, they can’t be a substitute, despite media reports to the contrary, for outdoor activity or fitness training for our youth.

With the incidence of childhood obesity sky-rocketing in recent years, much attention has been paid to healthier eating options for these age groups, but that’s only half the picture.

Research indicating that there are still large numbers of young people not meeting recommended levels of physical activity despite strong evidence of its health benefits, has prompted the government to place an increased emphasis on promoting physical activity to young people. Schools are recognised as a key setting that can influence participation levels among young people. Consequently there are a number of national targets and requirements in place designed to encourage schools to address this area.

The Government’s vision is that 50% of schools will be healthy schools by 2008, with the rest working towards healthy school status by 2009. A whole school approach to promoting physical activity is essential to be eligible for healthy school status. From September 2005 Ofsted implemented a new approach to schools inspections. Subject to parliamentary approval, in future, there will be an increased focus on the impact that educational provision has on pupil health and wellbeing. This links into the Every Child Matters framework making sure all young people can ‘be healthy’.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education and Skills have a shared Public Service Agreement (PSA) to increase the percentage of school children (aged 5-16) who spend a minimum of 2 hours each week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond
the curriculum from 25% in 2002 to 85% by 2008.

The Government also has a long term ambition to ensure that all children and young people have at least two hours of high quality PE within the curriculum and the opportunity to access a further two hours or more of sport per week beyond the school day by 2010.

There is a PSA target across the Department of Health, Department for Education and Skills, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children under the age of 11 by 2010. Increasing physical activity is seen as one key area that needs to be addressed in order to halt the increasing levels of obesity. By focussing on increasing steps, we encourage all pupils to increase activity levels and provides targets that are achievable by all young people. Through the Super Strider Challenge, pupils are encouraged to work towards average daily step totals that have been identified as being the level necessary to achieve ‘optimal body weight’ (15,000 steps/day).

What sort of future are we providing kids and adolescents if we encourage or allow them to sit indoors with the TV and gaming consoles? The answer is an easy one – a future of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and even physical incapacity in later years. Is that what we want for them?

Drummond Education trains gym and fitness instructors, personal trainers and specialty trainers for working in the gym environment with kids and adolescents. With an emphasis on modifications for growing bodies, behaviour changes for these age groups and making exercise fun and interactive,  the courses and many others run locally in Maidenhead every month. Drummond Education offers a full suite of training for teachers and personal trainers who want to work with children, from ‘fitclub’ group exercise, CYQ certification on health-related fitness for children and Active IQ Adolescent Gym certification. There is no pre-requisite so you don’t have to be a fitness instructor to qualify for the training.