Primary school girls are less active than boys

Research published in recent years by the Health Improvement Commission, measured the physical activity levels of children in primary school Years 4 and 6.

In total, 302 children from six schools wore an accelerometer, a research-grade, waist-worn device which estimates the volume and intensity of physical activity every minute for seven days.

The findings showed that, on average, girls were less active than boys.

Nearly two-thirds of boys but only one-third of girls met the UK Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines of an average of 60 minutes moderate to vigorous physical activity per day across a week.

Many fewer girls (37%) than boys (66%) met guidelines for doing 30 minutes of physical activity during the school day.

‘One of the aims of this report was to look at the data we have, look at where we were doing well and where there’s room for improvement,' said medical officer of health Dr Nicola Brink.

'Certainly we would like to see more physical activity among girls,’

‘Physical activity confers a range of important physical and mental health benefits and is particularly important among girls and young women, for example by building bone mineral density and delaying the onset of osteoporosis.

‘The skills, confidence and motivations to be active track from childhood to adulthood, so helping more girls to be more active will have important impacts on levels of adult physical activity.’

Dr Brink said Public Health would be working with partners on a number of initiatives to tackle this problem.

‘It’s encouraging them, it’s providing role models, it’s providing information, it’s signposting to activities that are appropriate and they want to do.

'That’s something that our partner, the Health Improvement Commission, has been working on,’ she said.