One hour of exercise ‘can help children avoid obesity’

JUST one hour’s exercise per day is enough to help young people avoid becoming obese, a conference on children’s health heard yesterday.

The Consultation Day on Physical Activity, Young People and the Physical Environment, hosted by the National Heart Alliance and the Irish Heart Foundation, issued a list of recommendations designed to promote more activity and better health among children.

According to Dr Catherine Woods of DCU, investing in physical activity for children is not an option but a necessity.

“Epidemiological evidence in the United States has shown that the medical care cost of not dealing with the consequences of inactivity is approximately $76 billion per annum, not to mention loss of productivity and the detrimental impact on quality of life for the individual and community,” she told the conference.

The findings of a paper presented on behalf of the National Heart Alliance by Norah Nelson of Dublin City University showed that young people’s health can be improved by environmental changes such as safe walking and cycling routes to school; traffic calming measures; restrictions on use of motor vehicles; traffic education; and ‘home zones’ which would increase children’s outdoor activity by allowing walking, cycling and playing on the street.

President of the Irish Heart Foundation, Professor Eoin O’Brien, stressed that the environment has to be taken into account when looking at the health of children and young people.

“In relation to children, we are seeing growing levels of inactivity among Irish children, leading in turn to increasing levels of obesity and type two diabetes as well as early risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure.”

The consultation day was opened by the Minister for Children, Brian Lenihan.