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Sport and fitness for today’s youth
October 2010 £2.75
Breakfast eaters are more active By Louise Cordell SCIENTISTS have announced that one simple action could stop British children from getting fatter, less physically active and less fit – eating breakfast. Researchers at Essex University have found that children who skip breakfast are less active than those who eat it, and believe that the meal could hold the key to better child health. For their study, they looked at the fitness, physical activity, weight and breakfast habits of more than 4,000 children. The results showed that a quarter of boys and a third of girls regularly went to school without eating breakfast and that the children who did not eat breakfast were less active than those who did. The research found that boys who skipped the meal were twice as likely to be classified as unfit compared with those who always managed to eat something before leaving home. Results also suggested that the lower physical activity in those that
Coaching goal is revealed
missed breakfast could have a knock on effect on children’s body weight, as breakfast skippers were nearly twice as likely to be obese compared with those who ate the meal every day. The study also recorded the reasons children gave for why they don’t eat breakfast – for boys it was often due to a lack of time in the mornings but girls often skip the meal because they think it can help them lose weight, even though it can actually lead to cravings for sugary snacks and drinks. Dr Gavin Sandercock, who led the research, claims that the decline in the health of the nation’s children is a major worry. He said: “There is great national concern about our children’s increasing weight, decreasing activity and decreasing fitness. “You don’t see many factors that relate so strongly to all three, but it appears that children who regularly eat breakfast are thinner, more active and even fitter than those who don’t.”
Organisers are celebrating the success of this year’s UK School Games – a multi-sport event for the country’s elite young athletes. The event programme included road cycling, athletics, badminton, fencing, gymnastics, hockey, judo, swimming, table tennis and volleyball. There was also an integrated programme of disability events for physical and learning disabilities in athletics, swimming and table tennis. The sports were combined into a four day Games environment designed to replicated the feel of a major event like the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games. Picture: Olympic gold medallist Jason Gardener launching the UK School Games
SPORT Wales has announced it is aiming to get ten per cent of the Welsh adult population involved in sport coaching and volunteering by 2016. The move would double the current number of coaches and volunteers to an all-time high of nearly 250,000. It is hoped that the pledge will enable every person who participates in sport in Wales to have access to an appropriately skilled coach, as part of ongoing efforts to get every child hooked on sport for life and create a nation of champions. The full details of a six-year Coaching Strategy are set to be unveiled later this month by the Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones and Chair of Sport Wales, Professor Laura MacAllister. Look out for an interview with Professor McAllister next issue, talking about the strategy and practicalities of helping Wales achieve its coaching goals.