Boys aged five to 12 are more active than girls in the same age group, a new report assessing the levels of physical activity among children has found.
The Irish Universities Nutritional Alliance (IUNA) surveyed 594 children over the course of a year, and found that young boys exercised more, both inside and outside school hours.
Ninety per cent of those surveyed engaged in physical activity during school break times at least three times a week. In addition, more than 85 per cent participated in physical education classes for an average of 54 minutes a day, just six minutes less than the hour recommended by medical professionals.
The survey, conducted as part of the SuperValu Kids in Action programme, works in conjunction with IUNA and the Irish Sports Council (ISC) to encourage schoolchildren to play sports.
It found that close to three-quarters (71 per cent) of the children were driven to school, despite living less than a mile away. The findings also show that over 80 per cent of those surveyed watched more than one hour of television a day during the school week.
One-third watch more than two hours of television a day, and a further third watch more than three hours at weekends.
"Most children seem to be getting the balance right and are quite active but there is a significant minority who aren't - 20 per cent of boys and 25 per cent of girls are overweight or obese," said Prof Albert Flynn, of the IUNA and University College Cork. "It does seem that those who watch a lot of television are more likely to be overweight."
The research shows that 54 per cent of obese children watch TV for more than two hours a day, compared with just 33 per cent of children of normal weight.
"Most are quite involved in sport and that is a huge thing to adapt them to more active lives. In any case, all children have a lot of time when they are sedentary which is a potential problem.
"There are opportunities for children to be active - with a huge growth in the number of summer camps and a lot of local sports clubs - but parents need to realise that children have to be encouraged to get involved."