Tuesday 25/November/2025 – 12:37 AM
showed study Recently, only one in five nursery-age children in the UK get enough exercise, raising experts’ concerns about their development and general health, according to what was published in the Sun.
Health concerns about physical activity in young children
Researchers have indicated that children sitting for long periods in front of screens at home may increase the risk of physical health problems.
The study was conducted on 419 children aged between two and four years, who were provided with movement tracking devices for an entire week.
The researchers found that less than a quarter of participants were active for three hours a day, while only one child in 40 got the recommended one hour of intense exercise.
The results showed that children were more active on days they went to nursery or preschool than on days they spent at home, suggesting that some parents allow their children to relax more when staying at home.
Researcher Dr. Kim Hannam said: Most children do not achieve the levels of movement necessary for healthy growth and development, highlighting a critical gap in physical activity among pre-school children.
The study also revealed a disparity in physical activity among children, with boys being more active than girls, and children from affluent families being more active than working-class children.
Professor Ruth Kipping from the University of Bristol explained that low levels of physical activity in early childhood can affect their healthy development and increase their risk of developing a range of chronic diseases later on, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
The researchers called for developing coordinated strategies to enhance physical activity among children and involving families in increasing their children’s movement, especially in light of the spread of electronic devices among young people. A fifth of children under the age of six own phones, six out of ten of them use social media, and a third of them play video games online.
