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Twenty years ago, during their leisure time, South African children were riding their bikes, climbing trees and playing catch or cops and robbers. Now, many of them are glued to their chairs watching TV, playing computer games or sending sms's to their friends, whilst snacking excessively, often on high fat foods. Sadly, on the other end of the spectrum, we have communities that are under-resourced, where children have no safe place to play or be physically active.
Poor lifestyle habits in children, such as being inactive and overweight, dramatically increases their risk of suffering from life-threatening diseases (often thought of as adult conditions) such as high blood pressure, type 11 diabetes and heart disease. Preliminary data from South Africa suggests that the prevalence of sedentary living and inactivity is equal to most developed countries. At an international conference on childhood obesity, Professor Philip James, chairman of the International Obesity Task Force, said "This is more than just a warning signal - it is the red light; we need to call a stop to the continuing pressures on children to eat too much and have so little active play."
In light of this there are many South African initiatives on the go. Just two of these initiatives are the South African Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth which has been developed to serve as a "stock take" of current evidence of factors which are contributing to increased health risk in children. The other is the Youth Fitness & Wellness Charter, which states that children have a right to be physically active and that we need to ensure that this right is realized.
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