Children need more exercise - especially girls, study says !

Half of all UK seven-year-olds do not do enough exercise, with girls far less active than boys, a study suggests. University College London researchers found just 51% of the 6,500 children they monitored achieved the recommended hour of physical activity each day. For girls, the figure was just 38%, compared with 63% for boys. Half of the group also spent more than six hours being sedentary each day, although some of this would be spent in class, the researchers acknowledged.

 Dr Ann Hoskins, of Public Health England, agreed. She said: "This study highlights that there is still much to do to keep children and young people active as they grow older, especially girls. "The new school year is the perfect time to make healthy changes, swapping short car or bus journeys with walking or scooting to school."

More here.