Sporty kids battle bulge

Report shows Aussie children more active but still getting fatter

AUSSIE kids are playing more sport than ever before, but they’re still getting fatter.

And while boys continue to get more active, girls participation is sliding.

The latest participation data on kids sport from the Australian Sports Commission shows in 2017, 3.5 million children aged 15 and under (74 per cent) participated in some form of organised sport or physical activity outside of school hours, compared with 3.2 million children (70 per cent) in 2016.

But while there was a jump in participation, 55 per cent of kids aged 12 to 14 still ei- ther don’t like physical activity or see it as a priority, this falls to 25 per cent of nine to 11year-olds and 18 per cent of five to 8-year-olds.

And although participation increased in 2017, our children’s waistlines are continuing to grow, with one in three children expected to be obese by 2028, according to Obesity Australia.

The top sporting activities nationally by participation for kids under the age of 15 in 2017 were swimming (31.8 per cent), soccer (14.1 per cent) and AFL (8.8 per cent).

For girls, the top activities were swimming (33.9 per cent), dancing recreational (14.7 per cent) and netball (13.3 per cent).

For boys the top activities for 2017 were swimming (29.8 per cent), football/soccer (21.9 per cent) and AFL (14.6 per cent).

Swimming tops the list in all instances because for young children many parents prioritise learn to swim programs as their main activity outside of school hours.

The Australian Sports Commission’s AusPlay report found children are more likely to participate in organised physical activity outside school hours if their parents participate in sports or physical activity, they come from a highincome family, or they have only one or two siblings.

Children from families with three or more siblings are less likely to play organised sport than their smaller family coun- terparts.

The gap between boys and girls participation is also widening, with fewer girls aged 12 to 14 interested in sport.

But in sports like soccer and AFL there is a surge in female participation — with both increasing their junior female participation by 6 per cent in 2017 from the previous year.

Kate Palmer, Australian Sports Commission CEO, welcomed the increase in participation but said more needs to be done to keep our kids healthy.

“Despite the fact we have an increase in participation, Australians are still not active enough for the health outcomes we are trying to achieve and it is everyone’s responsibility to improve our children’s health,” Ms Palmer said.

She also said the drop between boys and girls participation was of concern.

“We all should be worried about this and working on ways to improve the situation.”

In 2017, the number of nine to 11-year-old girls participating in physical activity dropped by 7 per cent from 2016.

Football Federation Australia’s John Kent said soccer was increasingly the sport of choice for families. “For young families, football is a safe, fun, inclusive and accessible sport — that’s why we are the most popular choice,” Mr Kent said.