Physical and mental wellbeing go hand-in-hand

During those long early months of lockdown, an hour (or so) of exercise was one of the few permitted reasons for being outdoors. But gyms were shut down, sports clubs put matches and training on hold.

Options for exercise were limited. And the social aspect of it was completely shattered by the Covid restrictions.

While some embraced the opportunity and took daily runs or bike rides (taking care not to stray too far from home...) many more of us, sadly did not.

And while the impact on adults’ health has been dire, it may prove to have been devastating to our children.

With homeschooling keeping many of them sat in front of screens for hours at a time, or unable to go out – particularly if they had no access to a garden or safe outdoor area – physical activity was reduced to a minimum.

A health and wellbeing report published last year found that a third of Year 6 children and a quarter of Year R pupils are considered either overweight or obese. Gosport and Havant ranked among the boroughs with the fattest youngsters.

This all makes for grim reading, and makes one hope that we are not sitting on an obesity timebomb.

Not just for physical health either. At a Hampshire County Council select committee meeting on the matter Cllr Lesley Meenaghan hit the nail on the head when she said: ‘Physical health goes hand-inhand with mental health.’

The pressures on schools are many and varied, but PE classes are of vital importance. Even before the pandemic they represented the only chance for some pupils to exercise.

For this reason we wholeheartedly support schools in their bids to provide their young charges with physical activity.

Habits made as children can stand them in good stead for later in life.