Rising childhood obesity figures in the western world and the extreme threats to health which surround it remain a massive concern for health professionals. With the growth of technology, figures of obesity in primary school children have grown dramatically in recent years, as children exercise less and spend more time in front of a screen than ever before. But the installation of outdoor gym equipment for primary schools could be the answer to helping very young children find exercise exciting and fun from an early age.
According to a report released this month by NHS Digital from the National Childhood Measurement Programme, in UK Reception classes obesity prevalence increased to 9.7% in 2018/2019 from 9.5% in 2017/2018
The prevalence of obesity also increased in Year 6 schoolchildren from 20% in 2016-17 to 20.1% in 2017-18 and remained like this for the year 2018/2019. This equates to 116,000 children being obese.
The report also found that obesity prevalence was higher for boys than girls in both age groups – 10.0% of boys in reception were obese compared to 9.4% of girls and 22.5% of boys in year 6 were obese compared to 17.8% of girls.
In addition, obesity prevalence for children living in the most deprived areas was more than double that of those living in the least deprived areas for both reception and year 6.
Tackling the war on obesity
A way to tackle the worrying figures of obesity and poor health in primary schools is by ensuring a healthy diet in school time and also by installing sports equipment in primary schools that will enable children to enjoy exercise and have fun while keeping fit and healthy.
It is recommended by the NHS that children have at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day and schools can help to ensure this happens, both at playtimes and in PE classes.
Promoting fitness from a young age in primary schools and making exercise fun will help to encourage this to continue into older childhood, teenage years and adulthood. The benefits of exercise include:
- Increased energy levels
- Less chance of serious illness and chronic disease
- Boosted immune system
- Improved mental health and relaxation
- Better sleep
- Enable improved focus during lesson time
- Improved happiness, self esteem and overall well-being
- Outdoor exercise also gives the opportunity to get a good dose of vitamin D from the sunshine
Outdoor gym equipment installation
At CJ Sport Surfaces, our sports equipment experts have found that outdoor gym equipment installation for primary schools has been incredibly popular, giving children the chance to exercise like the adults and have fun while doing it.
Much of the equipment enables the children to take part in active challenges, interact with one another better and have some fun, which makes exercise something to look forward to, instead of feeling like a chore. And because it’s installed outside, there’s every opportunity to get some healthy fresh air and sunshine too.
We can supply and install outdoor gym equipment for primary schools which include:
- Children’s waist twister
- Leg stretch
- Strength challenger
- Health walker
- Slalom skier
- Horse rider
- Rowing machine
- Children’s sky stepper
- Tai Chi discs
- Arm pedal cycle
CJ Sport Surfaces have been working in the education sector for over 25 years, installing and maintaining many pieces of gym equipment for primary schools, parks and playgrounds all over the UK. All our work comes with a workmanship and product quality guarantee.
We are committed to reducing the figures of childhood obesity and getting all children to love being active once more.
If you’re looking for outdoor gym equipment for your school, park or play area, contact CJ Sport Surfaces for a fully delivered and installed quotation, free of charge.