A new report by the World Health Organization says New Zealanders lag most of the world in physical activity, with one expert saying there’s a ‘combination of things’ they need to focus on to improve their rate of exercise. said.
According to the report, 95% of girls aged 11 to 17 are physically inactive and 85% of boys in the same demographic are physically inactive, compared to the global average of 81%.
45% of women and 39% of men over the age of 70 are inactive, and 62% of women and 55% of men do not get enough exercise.
“A lot of people are shocked by these statistics,” said Richard Bedey, CEO of Exercise New Zealand, this morning.
“I think the illusion we have in New Zealand is that we are a sports nation, and we know that we actually have great talent in the sports field.
“The problem, however, is that participation generally isn’t connected, and elite sports and participation aren’t as connected as people think.
“And sport is part of the solution to physical activity, so I think this adherence to sport is part of the problem, but it’s not the only one.
“There are two other important points. One of them is what we call ancillary activities. If you bike to work or walk to school, you bike to school, but you also do structured exercise. I have.”
He said sport has a role to play as structured movement is growing rapidly, but it’s not a long-term solution.
“It’s a combination of things that we need to focus on,” Bedi said.
Zeal New Zealand youth worker Hadleigh Pouesi agrees.
“When you try to keep kids physically active, you’re competing with their devices,” he said. “So at such a young age, they don’t understand the joy of being physically active. It goes straight to competition. As soon as they go to competition, many young people avoid it. I will put it away.
“They don’t want to be a part of it, but they haven’t had the opportunity to find the enjoyment they can get through physical activity.”
Beddie said numbers, especially for girls, were a “big problem”.
“When you look at the school level, it really does affect your academic performance. The best thing you can do for your young tamariki is to get them really active, which actually improves their academic performance.”
“It’s very important to enjoy physical activity and not do it as a chore, because the reality is that you’ll be doing it for a short period of time,” he said.
“We need to focus on what we can enjoy. Be it rugby, netball, going to the gym, yoga, they are activities that we can do and how many of them. or is not competitive and that is very important…”
