Bernard Allen
Question:315 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement on a recently published report that there is a high level of physical inactivity in girls. [23077/01]
Written Answers. - Health Promotion
I assume the Deputy is referring to the article, Physical activity in Dublin children aged 7-9 years, published recently in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The survey of 786 Dublin children between seven and nine years highlighted that: 14% of boys and 25% of girls in this age bracket exercised less than the minimum recommended levels necessary to benefit the cardiovascular system; irrespective of gender, 43% of the children failed to engage in even moderate levels of physical activity, such as walking and cycling and girls (28%) are about half as physically active as boys (53%) when it comes to regular vigorous exercise (at least 20 minutes of hard exercise three or more times a week).
Although direct comparisons with other studies are difficult because of the different methods used, many of the findings of this study are similar to those in many other published reports, including the SLÁN survey. While the survey supports the evidence that boys are more frequent exercisers than girls, this research highlights that the difference in activity levels between the sexes, already known about teenage years, is evident from an earlier age.
In response to inactivity levels among the population, this year I launched a major national media campaign, Get a Life, Get Active. The campaign message is that for health benefits we are recommended to take at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week. School children are among the key audiences as well as older people and the workplace. As well as national TV and radio advertising a settings approach at local level has been adopted in schools, workplaces and communities.
This campaign is the second phase of Ireland Needs a Change of Heart and was developed in association with the Irish Heart Foundation and the health boards to address physical inactivity. National media advertising has been developed in co-operation with the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland.
The campaign included the publication of a leaflet and a 20-page publication, A Handy Guide to Physical Activity for a Healthy Heart, which provide a range of suggestions and handy hints on how to achieve better health by making physical activity an important part of daily life. These publications are widely available.