Nursery World - Go with the flow (1)

Encouraging children to get physical can lay the basis for health and success in other fields, says Rachel Goodchild The phrase 'obesity epidemic' seems to be everywhere. We are told we are killing our children with over-indulgent lifestyles, feeding them too much junk food and allowing them to turn into tubby telly addicts.

The phrase 'obesity epidemic' seems to be everywhere. We are told we are killing our children with over-indulgent lifestyles, feeding them too much junk food and allowing them to turn into tubby telly addicts.

A significant part of the problem is that children are much less physically active than they used to be. It can be hard for parents to get their children moving when there are safety concerns, time pressures and reluctant feet to worry about.

Research suggests that even very young children are moving around less than they would have done in former times. For example, a 2004 study from the University of Scotland found the toddlers they studied were active for only 20 minutes a day.

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