Less than half of children meet physical activity guidelines

Less than half (47.8%) of children in England are meeting the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of taking part in an average of 60 minutes or more of sport and physical activity every day.

The worrying figure comes from Sport England’s latest Active Lives Children and Young People Survey Report. The report paints a bleak picture of the activity levels among children. Nearly a third (29.6%) – or 2.1 million children and young people – currently do less than an average of 30 minutes a day.

There are also signs of a worrying deterioration in children and young people’s relationship with sport and physical activity.

Those currently in school years 3 to 8 (ages 7-13) are now less likely to have positive attitudes towards sports and exercise than their peers did six years ago.