Why playing outside is best medicine for children

In Shropshire, families and groups of youngsters have been flocking to Telford Town Park to take advantage of the good weather and new facilities and spend time outside. Even during a rare, rainy day last week the park was buzzing with people running, climbing, playing mini golf and tennis and walking.

But academics are warning that an epidemic of inactivity among young people across the UK means many slim-looking children have "hidden fat" which puts them at risk of an early death from type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

They warn that a national schools strategy – the National Child Measurement Programme, or NCMP – is failing to identify many of those at risk because it does not officially class them as overweight. It uses body mass index (BMI).

But research led by child obesity expert Professor David McCarthy, of London Metropolitan University, using a more accurate method to measure actual body fat, indicates one million more children are carrying too much fat around their internal organs.

Professor McCarthy said many children found playing on computers more enjoyable than playing games outdoors.

Families in Telford said they believed it is the way children are raised that could help them avoid health problems from a lack of exercise but admitted to it sometimes being a challenge to get youngsters away from the screens and out of the house.

Mother-of-two Elizabeth Siddall, who was at the park with James, six and Olivia, eight, said: "We have not got an Xbox and the children love being outdoors, we have always done stuff with them outdoors – it is the way they have been brought up. It is the way you raise the kids.

"Distractions are a worry as they grow up but they have always done stuff outdoors and we hope they will carry on enjoying the outdoors and an active lifestyle."

Alongside his three sons after a round of mini golf, Kevin Sumner, of The Rock, blamed "lazy parenting" for some children's inactive lifestyles.

He said he had managed to get his son Tom, 15, off his Xbox by promising a day out.

"I think it is lazy parenting, then they blame the fast food or entertainment companies," he said. "It is easy to get sucked into indoor activities and there is a lot of pressure on the kids. A lot of parents just give into it but I just say 'no' and that is the answer."

Tom said improvements to Telford town centre could help young people in the area get out of the house more, adding: "You need things to do outside and things that are affordable."

• Star comment: Children must get out more

Five-year-old Ethan Ball had travelled to Telford with mum Karen and grandad Stephen Wagg, from Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Mrs Ball said: "I don't have any problems with Ethan, he likes the outdoors. He hasn't got a PlayStation or Xbox , but he has got a tablet. All the kids in his class are playing Skylanders and some of the other computer games but he does not bother.

"He eats what you put in front of him, so if you put McDonald's in front of him that is what he will eat."

Russell Griffin, of Telford & Wrekin Council, said the authority had invested "significant sums" in the area's leisure facilities including Telford Ice Rink, Wellington Civic and Leisure Centre and launched a Building Schools for the Future programme.

Professor McCarthy, however, said the number of unfit youngsters had been "clearly underestimated" and said as many as one in seven children recorded by schools as having a healthy BMI were at risk of developing life-limiting diseases.

Public health minister Jane Ellison said BMI was not "a perfect measure" but was internationally recognised as being the most reliable way to estimate body mass.

"There is still much to do and we are clear families need a balanced diet and regular exercise to be healthy," she added.

Professor Kevin Fenton, national director for health and wellbeing at Public Health England said: "Being active as a child and keeping active through adolescence is much easier if the whole family keep active and it becomes part of being active every day.

"Too many children slip out of the habit of being active as they get older and spend more time in front of the telly or computer screen.

"There are many ways families can get more active, whether it's leaving the car at home and walking or cycling to get from A to B, going swimming or initiating active play to encourage children to meet the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day."

Shropshire Wildlife Trust, meanwhile, is doing its own thing to get children active during the summer holidays.

It has launched a new scheme to set youngsters on a voyage of nature discovery this summer.

My Wild Summer is a wildlife and activity guide packed with ideas and information, complemented by online offerings of places to go and things to do.

The Wildlife Trusts' Stephen Trotter, said: "Transforming children into bug hunters and bird detectives, getting them outside into gardens, parks, and nature reserves where they can find out about their local wildlife brings about so many benefits."