TALKBACK everyone’s talking about . . .
kids’ fi tness C
hildhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century, according to the
World Health Organisation. Globally, 42 million children under the age of five are now overweight. And in the UK, fi gures released in December by the NHS show that 23.1 per cent of children starting school are now overweight or obese. By the time they leave primary school, at the age of 10 or 11, this has increased to 33.4 per cent. What makes it all the more shocking
is that this is a modern problem: 50 years ago there were no obesity statistics, as the problem simply wasn’t
murdo wallace the wright foundation • founder
children’s fitness on the political agenda. However, although politicians will let you think they’ve said yes, sadly the issue never actually progresses. We approached government agencies
“T
about running a project like the Cooper Child Obesity Project in the US, where
children did three hours of exercise a week at school and learned about diet and nutrition. The Wright Foundation has been using the Cooper research over here in the UK and it’s tried and proven, but still the government wouldn’t fund it. Exercise needs to become a habit, and the best place to do
this is through schools. Healthier people have healthier minds: Dr Cooper found that those doing regular exercise did better academically. In spite of this, through our consultations, we’ve found that unfortunately exercise is often the first thing cut on pressurised school timetables. The message is there: we’ve reached a time when parents
will start to see their children die before them. We’ve gone past the stage for local and independent solutions. There needs to be a national outlook led by the government.
”
he fitness industry has tried hard to keep the issue of
kath hudson • journalist • health club management
Has the age of austerity resulted in children’s fitness dropping off the political agenda? And has the health and fitness industry done as much as it can to keep the issue on the radar?
there on any notable scale. In half a century, we’ve moved to a situation where it will not be unusual for children to die before their parents – a result of diseases arising from weight issues. Given this information, it seems
incredible that children’s fi tness isn’t at the top of the political agenda. And yet, with much of the provision overseen by local authorities, kids’ fi tness seems to have been one of the fi rst areas to feel the axe during the recent spending cuts. Initiatives such as Sport England’s new
Sportivate programme – targeting 14- to 25-year-olds who don’t participate in sport, coaching them for six to eight
weeks and hopefully inspiring them to carry on – might have some success. But since it will only reach 300,000 participants over four years, it can only scratch the surface of the problem. So whose fault is it that this pressing
issue is being shelved? Doesn’t the government listen? Doesn’t the fi tness industry shout loud enough, or do enough to demonstrate its worth via measurable outcomes that justify the expenditure? Do we need legislation or will the government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal, aimed at tackling the wider health issues with businesses and organisations, be suffi cient? We ask our panel of experts...
HAS KIDS’ FITNESS FALLEN OFF THE POLITICAL AGENDA? EMAIL US:
HEALTHCLUB@LEISUREMEDIA.COM
tam fry child growth foundation • honorary chair
“C
hildren’s fitness is not on the political agenda. For some time
now we’ve seen school sports co- ordinators being cut and no movement to extend school sport. The education department doesn’t see obesity as part of its remit: it thinks school is a place to learn facts rather than to turn children into individuals ready for adulthood.
I think the fitness industry is doing as much as it can to raise
awareness of the issue, particularly with the committee under the Responsibility Deal, but it is frequently knocking on a shut door. I think everyone has to be pulling the rope, but first of all the government has to provide the rope for people to pull and it’s not currently doing that. People are doing what they can, where they can, but there’s no strategic planning from government to allow people to react. The government has a responsibility to pull together and get its departments to work closely together on the objectives that need to be met. If nothing really dramatic is done, the situation will get
worse: we’re in the midst of an awful economic situation that’s leading to higher prices of foodstuffs, which will result in people choosing cheaper options, not the healthy ones.
” 26 Read Health Club Management online
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital july 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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