South African children getting fatter - research

CAPE TOWN ' South African children are getting fatter and spending more time glued to the television according to a new report on the health of the nation's youth.
The research highlights the long-term consequences of being overweight, under-active and smoking, the three biggest lifestyle risk factors for diabetes, heart disease, cancer and lung diseases.
The Healthy Active Kids SA Report Card compared the health of young people in 2007 and 2010, drawing on close to 100 published studies. It found a greater proportion of children were overweight (20% compared to 17%), and that they were spending a greater amount of their time in front of television or computer screens. Nearly 30% of children said they watched at least three hours of television a day, compared to 25% previously.
Less than half of the youths surveyed participated in enough physical activity for it to be considered beneficial to their health. There was no change in smoking rates or alcohol consumption.
The report, which was published today by Discovery Vitality, did however note some positive trends, saying there was greater awareness of the need for initiatives to encourage healthy lifestyles. Although there was not enough data to analyse the impact of new programmes introduced by schools and the government, the report noted a growing number of projects with potential to encourage healthier living, such as new bicycle lanes and the re-introduction of physical education into the school curriculum.