Children 'taking insufficent exercise'

Nearly nine out of ten children fail to engage in the minimum amount of physical activity recommended to avoid long-term health problems, a study has found.

The study, for the Scout Association, found that about eight million children are spending less than the five hours a week of moderate physical activity that has been set by the Department of Health as a benchmark for maintaining a level of fitness to stave off diseases and problems from heart disease to insomnia.

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The research suggests that although the vast majority of parents and children recognise the benefits of outdoor exercise, a number of factors still prevent children from swapping their computers for a game of football or other energetic leisure activity. They range from a lack of outdoor space and excessive school homework to peer pressure and parental fears about safety.

Peter Duncan, head of the Scout movement, said: "This report should come with a national health warning. Young people who spend more time outdoors are healthier that those who do not and at the moment the outlook is bleak."

The study follows a warning from a government minister that a generation of "battery-farmed children" was being raised because of an aversion to letting them stray far from home.