Kids fitter but fatter as sport rate rises

AUSSIE children are playing more sport than ever – but they’re still getting fatter.

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

News Corp can reveal the latest participation data on kids’ sport from the Australian Sports Commission.

It shows in 2017, 3.5 million children aged 15 and under (74 per cent) participated in some organised sport or physical activity outside school hours, compared with 3.2 million (70 per cent) in 2016.

But while there was a rise in participation, 55 per cent of kids aged 12-14 either don’t like physical activity or don’t see it as a priority. This falls to 25 per cent of children aged 9-11 and 18 per cent of those aged 5-8.

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

The top sporting activities nationally by participation for under-15s in 2017 were swimming (31.8 per cent), soccer (14.1 per cent) and Australian football (8.8 per cent).

The Australian Sports Commission’s AusPlay report revealed children were more likely to participate in organised physical activity outside school hours if their parents participate in sports or physical activity. The participation gap between boys and girls is also widening, with fewer girls aged 12-14 interested in sport.