Bailiwick children becoming more active, report finds
CHILDREN in the Bailiwick are moving in the right direction, the Health Improvement Commission has found through its Active Healthy Kids Report Card.
Investigating the levels of physical activity in youngsters, the survey found an increase in activity levels, although it also highlighted a continued need for supporting local children to be more active.
‘These results show that the collective efforts from the community in promoting and enabling children and young people’s physical activity so far are beginning to pay off,’ said Alun Williams, the chairman of the working group behind the report and Be Active lead at the HIC.
‘In some areas, however, the grades show that a significant number of our children and young people are not moving enough nor often enough to reap the mental, physical and social benefits of regular physical activity.
‘Like elsewhere, our children become less active as they get older.’
A working group of 10 people with diverse expertise across education, public health, health improvement, sports and leisure and research policy and strategy, collated evidence against seven indicators of physical activity in children, which was graded A+ to F.
The local report is part of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance, comprising 57 countries, and the grading system was used by all countries involved.
For the Bailiwick, the overall physical activity indicator received an increased grade of a C+, an improvement on the D grade in 2018, and the indicator for active travel proved that more children and young people are walking, cycling or scooting to school and back, with the grade increasing from a D to a C-.
‘It is pleasing to see these improvements in the grades of indicators for physical activity,’ said Mr Williams.
‘The increase in active travel is especially welcome as we hope that it reflects a shift in understanding the benefits of active travel, not just for young people but for the whole community.’
The first post-pandemic children and young people’s survey is expected to be published later this year, and it is hoped the results will provide an indication of the pandemic’s impact on physical activity levels.
