Time to tackle that fat-kids fix

By KATHERINE HOBY

We see it everywhere and hear it endlessly - Kiwi kids are getting fatter, and getting more sedentary.

The rise of the home computer and PlayStation and the continued fascination with television have taken a stranglehold on the image of active New Zealand children who used to play cricket all day and ride bikes till dusk.

Health implications for this country include higher health costs and larger numbers of children with diabetes and heart problems.

But what is being done to help New Zealand children get active? And what can parents do to get their children off the couch?

Sport and Recreation New Zealand's senior adviser for strategy, Nicky Sherriff, says that much as health experts and parents alike hate to admit it, child obesity is a big health issue in New Zealand.

Several lifestyle factors have changed over the decades - parents are busier, there are more single-parent families, and the average New Zealand home has a smaller backyard.

"The whole lot of these conspire against incidental activity and [promote] a rise in the sedentary child," she said. "Some parents have become quite happy to let their TV babysit."

A 1997 Consumer magazine survey found that children watch, on average, two hours and 11 minutes of television a day. At the same time various surveys have shown that the sport and health status of our children is in decline.

A Lincoln University study which looked at the physical fitness of children between 10 and 14 from 1991 to 2000 found boys increased in weight by 2.9kg and girls by 2.1kg.

The time taken to complete a 550m run increased by 23.6 seconds for boys and 27 seconds for girls.

Ms Sherriff said parents needed to become "guardians and gatekeepers". They needed to sort out priorities and place more importance on health and fitness for their children.

"Once you have those priorities right and they're things you really want, it's a matter of making time."

She said it was important to establish activity patterns when children were young (between birth and 5 years) and to set a good example.

"Inactive parents are likely to have inactive kids, and it is also more likely that if a child is inactive they will be the same in adulthood," she said.

A lot of people seemed to view being physically active as difficult.

"It's not all about going to the gym. It's quite simple, in fact. It's just using your body in a way that's physical."

The Heart Foundation quotes a recent survey which found that 15 per cent of Auckland children are obese.

Foundation medical director Dr Diana North said the statistic was shocking.

"And this is not puppy fat we are talking about. This is obesity."

She said it was crucial to teach children that physical activity could be fun.

The foundation is about to relaunch its Jump Rope for Heart programme in schools.

Dr North said the programme had been a leading physical education resource for New Zealand schools. It aims to reinforce, at primary-school level, the positive lifestyle behaviours of staying physically active, eating healthy, and being smokefree.

"Walking school buses" are one way some Auckland primary schools have dealt with the twin issues of activity in children and security concerns. The "bus" has a warden and driver guiding up to 30 children.

Sport, play fun

Nicky Sherriff gives her advice on keeping children active in the real world:

* For the very little ones, play is best.

* As young people get older, school and community sports should be investigated.

* Make exercise and sport fun.

* Keep it simple. Going on a bike ride, playing cricket at the beach or park, having a game of tag or a brisk walk will help.

* Make the most of your community's green space.

* Make agreements with children - and involve them with the decision-making if they are old enough - about how much TV, computer and outside time they have.