The number of children doing an hour of exercise a day falls by nearly 40% between the ages of five and 12.

The number of children meeting the recommended amount of physical activity for healthy development and to maintain a healthy weight (60 minutes a day) drops by 40% as they move through primary school.

A new survey from Public Health England and Disney looking at the effects of physical activity on children’s emotional wellbeing, found:

  • being active made the majority of 5 to 11 year olds feel happier (79%), more confident (72%), and more sociable (74%), according to their parents
  • nearly all children said they liked being active (93%)
  • the main motivations for kids to be more active was having friends to join in (53%) and having more activities they liked to choose from (48%)
  • children’s overall happiness declines with age; 64% of 5 and 6 year olds said they always feel happy, compared to just 48% of 11 year olds
  • 19% of children said they were less active due to a lack of sports or activities they enjoyed

To find out more click here; https://www.gov.uk/government/news/number-of-children-getting-enough-physical-activity-drops-by-40