Encourge your child to exercise

¦ I’m concerned my son isn’t active enough and recently he’s been complaining of back pain. Could there be a link between the two?

>> Back pain in children could be related to bad posturing or injury. I would advise you to make an appointment for your son to see his GP, who can carry out an examination and take a history of the back pain to establish its cause. You could also ask your GP for advice on how to increase your son’s activity levels.

It’s important you set an example so that regular exercise becomes a life long habit, and that physical activity every day becomes the norm. Exercise builds strong bones and strengthens muscles, reduces body fat and helps to reduce the risk of some chronic diseases later in life.