Poor physical activity will lead to increasing health issues

Scientists warn of increasing health problems in the UK and Ireland if children and young people’s physical activity skills don’t improve

A Coventry University researcher has warned that Britain faces a tsunami of health problems if it does not address worrying levels of physical activity skills among children and young people.

Professor Mike Duncan, from the Research Center for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences at the University of Coventry, has worked with the International Motor Development Research Consortium and 11 other scientists to draw public attention to the worryingly low levels of motor skills among children and young people in the UK and Ireland close.

The scientists warn that if schools, community sports and health systems don’t soon focus on improving basic movement skills such as balancing, turning, running, jumping, grasping, handling, throwing and catching in children and adolescents, it could lead to an increase in health problems such as obesity , diabetes and mental well-being.

They have expressed their concerns in an expert statement that data from a 2019 study shows that less than 20% of children in the UK aged six to nine have mastered the four key motor skills – running, jumping, throwing, catching – who have been identified have mastered the national PE curriculum.

The data reviewed by Professor Duncan and the scientists were all collected before the pandemic and due to COVID-19 and home schooling during the lockdown he expects the situation has worsened.

He said: “Potential long-term effects of low basic movement skills include higher rates of inactivity and poorer health and well-being.

“While there is evidence that motor skill interventions through schools can be effective, there is a need to invest in motor skill development beyond schools and physical education (PE).

“A systems and community-based intervention approach with links between schools, community-based programs and parents is needed.

“This should be coupled with the advancement of quality research and additional clarity in describing motor skill interventions in this area.

“We believe that skill levels are so low that children currently do not have an adequate foundation to successfully participate in various forms of physical activity, and without this we are likely to see increasing diseases associated with obesity, diabetes and mental well-being. There is an urgent need to ensure children are taught the movement skills that will enable them to be active throughout life.”

The scientists recommend that decision-makers in local and national government and research funding agencies in the UK and Ireland act now.

Professor Lisa Barnett, President of the International Motor Development Research Consortium, said: “There is overwhelming research that motor skills contribute to children’s health in a multitude of ways, both physical and mental. Still, children are more sedentary than ever, and COVID-19 has only made this situation that much worse.

“Without action, the potential long-term effects of low motor skills are higher rates of inactivity and poorer health and well-being, likely to create a significant future social, health and economic burden for the UK and Ireland.”

A full copy of the report can be found here.

Find out more about Coventry University’s Research Center for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences

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source https://www.bisayanews.com/2022/01/30/poor-physical-activity-will-lead-to-increasing-health-issues/