Play best exercise UK study shows

The modern parent's hands-on style may be doing their children's health no favours, as their hands are too often attached to the steering wheel, according to new English research.

One of the study's authors, Professor Roger Mackett, was in Dunedin yesterday speaking to geographers at the University of Otago and people involved in children's recreation.

Among the findings is that unstructured play, such as kicking a ball around at the park, provides better quality physical exercise than structured sports.

Professor Mackett, of University College London, said they measured the amount of energy children burned per minute and kicking a ball came out ahead.

In industrialised countries there was a move away from unstructured play, prompted by parents, towards organised sport. But that often involved being driven to and from a venue, time spent getting changed and listening to a coach.

"While they are very active for a short period of time, much of the time they are not very active. Just playing is better in terms of calories per activity," Professor Mackett said.

The research also looked at the falling numbers of children in the United Kingdom walking to school, a phenomenon common to many countries.

The researchers were able to determine what children were missing out on by getting a ride to school, through a study of walking buses in two areas around London. It showed those children who began to walk to school were getting an extra 110 minutes' exercise a week, travelling 1.5km a day.

However, the study also found that trips to school were just the tip of the iceberg. Most car trips were for other purposes, whether visiting friends or going to clubs or tuition.

The research showed that only about two-thirds of children surveyed were allowed out into their neighbourhoods without an adult, and not before the age of eight in most cases.

Again, the intervention of parents, acting on safety concerns, was a key barrier to children getting out and about under their own steam.

"All these things are conspiring to reduce children's activity," Professor Mackett said.

It is not just activity levels that are affected. With the help of satellite positioning equipment, the researchers found that children who walked had a better idea of the layout of their neighbourhoods, which could have implications for cognitive development.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES