Schools should "redefine" physical activity, focussing on low-level effort rather than strenuous exercise, says ISEH consultant Dr Mike Loosemore. He argues cramming "heavy exercise" into a crowded school curriculum does not work. Instead, he says, getting children to stand up and move around more could have an extraordinary impact on their health.
He says in the real world schools cannot enforce it, parents do not promote it and government cannot dispense exercise or supervise it.
"It is time to redefine physical activity in terms that are accessible, achievable and available to all. We need to think of exercise as the effect of cumulative low-level effort, not performance-orientated, data-led disciplines." He says encouraging low-level activity would deliver life-long health benefits.
Read the article on the BBC website.
Dr Mike Loosemore is lead consultant at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health and lead consultant, South of England, for the English Institute of Sport.