Youngsters well under activity guidelines

Children and teenagers in a study on the health risks associated with obesity in young people were less physically active and spent more time watching screens than nationally recommended guidelines.

The 239 children were assessed when they enrolled in a Taranaki community-based 12 month intervention programme, Whanau Pakari.

Findings from the assessments of the overweight or obese 4 to 16-yearolds are being used as part of a joint study between the Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland, Taranaki District Health Board, and Sport Taranaki, with funding from the Health Research Council.

The latest findings have been published in the Scientific Reports journal.

Physical “huff and puff” activity was much lower than national averages, and the vast majority of children and teenagers didn’t meet physical activity guidelines, the study found.

Moderate to vigorous-intensity exercise was low, with a daily average of 39 minutes compared to 105 minutes in a national survey. The national physical activity guideline is at least one hour of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity each day.

And a third of participants spent more than three hours a day outside of school hours watching TV or other screens. National guidelines suggest no more than two hours a day, outside school.

Participants are split evenly, at 45 per cent each, between Maori and Pakeha. The remaining 10 per cent represent other ethnicities.

Liggins Institute researcher, Taranaki paediatrician and co-author of the study, Dr Yvonne Anderson, said the low physical activity combined with high screen time were a concern.

Researchers also found that as children got older, physical activity decreased.

Obesity was everyone’s problem, and everyone was part of the solution, Anderson said.

Nationally, an estimated 85,000 children aged between 2 and 14 are obese, according to the New Zealand Health Survey.