Australian study found that physical movement has decreased in children – but increased in adults

Getting in enough physical movement during the day can feel like a big concern for some. This rings even more true living through the COVID-19 pandemic, as countries shut down and more people began to work from home, cutting out their commute.

Several studies carried out in Australia have found that daily physical movement has decreased among children over 2020, with 42% of children out of the 2,000 surveyed by The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne being less active. Another survey by AusPlay also found that 44% of the 20,000 teenagers questioned were taking part in less sports and physical activities than they had previously.

The same AusPlay survey also focused on adults, with 29% of adults across a variety of groups answering that their exercise levels had increased. It has been found that a lot of adults have been conscious about planning exercise into their daily routine – for example walking around the neighbourhood at the end of their working day.

The studies have shown that perhaps the lockdowns have had more of a negative impact on children’s physical movement than adults. This could be explained by school closures, and children’s sports clubs and after-school activities not running as before.

There are multiple benefits to daily physical movement for children. Moving your body on a regular basis can support gross motor development, boost muscle and bone strength and even have a positive impact on mental health.

Ways to move more

If you are worried about your child getting enough physical exercise, here are a few ways that you could incorporate movement into your day:

Walk when you can. Where you can, travel on foot rather than using the car of public transport – you could set yourself a simple rule such as “everything less than a mile is walked”.
Have a dance break. We all love putting on our favourite music – try and have a little kitchen disco with your child when you can!

Find movement that is enjoyed. If something is found fun, there’s more chance that you or your child will want to do it more often. You could try out different things such as yoga, playing ball games or even classes such as dance or martial arts.

Australian study found that physical movement has decreased in children – but increased in adults

Ways to move more

Further Reading