Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement that occurs due to the contraction of skeletal muscle, resulting in energy expenditure (CDC. 2019). Regular physical activity is extremely beneficial for both physical and mental wellbeing. It helps to reduce the likelihood of, and manage noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer; reduces symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress; and enhances cognitive abilities (WHO, 2020).
In order to ensure that people are physically active enough to avail of the benefits mentioned above, the World Health Organisation has developed recommended guidelines to follow. The Irish Department of Health also follows these same guidelines.
So what are the current recommended physical activity guidelines for children and teenagers? These differ depending on the child’s age. The World Health Organisation recommends the following:
| Age | Recommendations |
| Infants (less than 1 year) | - Be physically active several times throughout the day with floor-based play/ tummy time - Not be restrained (pram, high chair, baby carrier) for more than 1 hour at a time - Try to keep them engaged during sedentary time with reading/ storytelling |
| 1-2 year olds | - Spend 180 minutes being physically active at any intensity (spread throughout the day) - Not be restrained (pram, high chair, baby carrier) for more than 1 hour at a time - Try to keep them engaged during sedentary time with reading/ storytelling |
| 3-4 year olds | - Spend 180 minutes being physically active at any intensity, of which 60 minutes is at moderate to vigorous intensity (spread throughout the day) - Not be restrained (pram) or sitting for more than 1 hour at a time - Keep screen time to less than 1 hour, try keep them engaged during sedentary time with reading/ storytelling |
| 5-17 year olds | - Spend 60 minutes a day doing moderate to vigorous activity everyday. - Incorporate activities that will help with bone and muscle strengthening and development 3 days a week - Incorporate activities to improve flexibility - Limit sedentary time as much as possible |
From the above recommendations you can see, we are advised to be active at every point in our lives!
Despite clear evidence showing the benefits of physical activity, only 15% of children in Ireland are meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines of 60 minutes moderate to vigorous aerobic activity a day. These are the findings of the Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity study published in 2022. While this report did show a 2% increase in physical activity levels in children compared to data collected 5 years previous, a lot of work still needs to be done to improve this number in upcoming years.
It’s important to ensure that our children and young people are as active as possible in early life, as physical activity levels during childhood are the best predictor of physical activity levels during adulthood (Telama et al., 2005).
So how can we ensure that children and young people are consistently meeting these recommended guidelines for physical activity? While the recommendations might seem quite daunting or unrealistic at first, they can be tailored to the individual’s lifestyle quite easily. While it’s recommended that children complete 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity a day, this just needs to be the accumulated amount, meaning it can be broken up throughout the day. For example, it might be a 10 minute walk to and from school. After school, you might bring your child to the playground or for a cycle around the park for 20 minutes. When you get home , you and your child might try out some fun dancing or active play together for 15 minutes. Then to finish off the day, you might incorporate some active breaks into their screen time e.g. during each ad break, they have to perform 10 jumping jacks. All of this gets you up to 60 minutes quite easily!
Notice how this example doesn’t include any after school activities such as football training or swimming lessons and it also doesn’t take physical activity during yard time into consideration, so there is no need to be intimidated by the 60 minute recommendation! Check out our suggestions of hitting your 60 minutes below.
Below, you will find a table that you can fill out to help ensure your child is hitting their 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity everyday! Fill in the activities you know they will definitely be doing throughout the week (walking to school, football training etc.) and the amount of time they will spend at them. This way you can easily see how much more time needs to be spent being active. You can see our example below and you can also print off your own version to fill out. You could even try to have your children design and decorate their own table to try encourage and motivate them to take accountability.
