Researchers will use a national database to determine fitness levels among primary school children. David Labanyi reports
A team of researchers is building the first national database on the activity levels among primary school children to find out if they are getting enough exercise.
The move comes amid growing concern at the levels of overweight primary school children.
Excess weight is now the most prevalent form of childhood disease in EU countries, according to the report of the National Obesity Task Force (2005).
Dr Sinead McCarthy of the department of clinical medicine in Trinity College Dublin is leading the research on behalf of the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance (IUNA), which includes University College Cork and the University of Ulster.
The National Children's Food Survey last year found that one boy in five, and one girl in four, aged between five and 12 years of age was overweight or obese.
The three-year food survey also gave 600 primary school children in 20 schools detailed questionnaires on their physical activity and McCarthy and her team plan to use the results for their study.
"The key finding in the food survey was the extent of the problem of childhood obesity. Now we want a further analysis on their physical activity and, because it is the same group, we can link it to their weight."
The researchers listed up to 40 types of activity, ranging from sports to walking, and have asked the children to note what sports they participated in and for how long.
"From our analysis so far, it is clear there are some serious issues. For example, 71 per cent of children are driven to school although they live under a mile away.
"Almost 70 per cent watch over two hours of TV a day," says McCarthy. Children watching television for two hours or more are more likely to be overweight, she says.
"We found that a child who does not get involved in active games and spends their time watching TV or at a computer is 66 per cent more likely to be deemed overweight or obese."
Information was also collected from the parents of the children surveyed. "This is to allow us to look for patterns. If parents watch a lot of television, do their children do the same? Is it an active or inactive household and what impact does that have? asks McCarthy.
The research is due to be completed by April and has been commissioned by SuperValu, as part of its Kids in Action Programme to promote active play. The retailer is also sponsoring a dietary education campaign, co-ordinated by Sarah Keogh of the Irish Nutrition and Dietic Institute.
This will see dietitians visit all SuperValu outlets between January and March to allow parents ask questions on nutrition.
According to the children's food survey, parents are feeding the wrong foods to their children, leading to a significant number of malnourished children despite a high calorie intake.
Keogh says a most common misconception is that children must clear their plates. "While children do need persuading with certain foods for a balanced diet, there is no need to force children to finish a meal if they are no longer hungry."
As part of Kids in Action, Supervalu and the Irish Sports Council are jointly funding a scheme to train primary school teachers to coach sports. John Treacy, Irish Sports Council chief executive, says more than 1,000 schools in 16 counties have participated in the scheme to date.
"The aim is to provide the skills and the equipment to teach children the fundamentals - running, jumping, catching, throwing. So if children then want to play a team or competitive sport, they won't feel inferior."
Known as Buntús, the scheme was designed to complement the physical education curriculum being designed by the Department of Education and Treacy says the scheme will be brought to remaining schools over the next two years.
John Carr, secretary general of the INTO, says while Buntús has the potential to enhance the primary school curriculum, "without basic facilities in schools it will never reach its potential. As the vast majority of primary schools do not have a PE hall, if it rains PE has to be cancelled."
Kids in Action is being supported by radio and television presenter Ray D'Arcy and runner Sonia O'Sullivan.
D'Arcy says he cycles to work and runs regularly. "It sounds all very boring but it has greatly improved my quality of life. I've been doing You're a Star in the winter and if I hadn't been exercising regularly I would have gone demented.
"It is unfortunate that at every turn our lives are designed to take the exercise out of it. At school I played everything - football, hurling, soccer, gymnastics, badminton. These are different times though . . . there were no playstations.
"Exercise is not getting kids to run 50 laps of a school yard. You need to provide fun equipment, the kind of stuff where you are exercising and don't even know it."
From January 16th, SuperValu will give a voucher for every €10 spent. This can be used by primary schools to claim sports equipment. All vouchers must be sent from the schools to the retailer by March 26th.