Children allowed freedom by parents are more active

Published on Sunday 5 April 2009 22:18

CHILDREN whose parents allow them freedom to visit friends and go shopping are more active, researchers said today.

Experts tracked the movements of 1,307 children using GPS technology. They also asked the pupils, aged ten and 11 from 23 schools, to complete a questionnaire about how much freedom they were given to travel outside the home unsupervised by their parents.

Children were asked: "How often are you allowed to go to the following places on your own or with friends (without an adult)?"

Participants said they were never, sometimes, often or always allowed to go to local shops, a big shopping centre, park or playground, sports centre, swimming pool, library, school, cinema, friend's house, amusement arcade, bus stop or train station.

The study found that both boys and girls given greater freedoms were much more active on weekdays than those closely watched by adults.

The study by experts at the University of Bristol, was published in the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity.

Dr Ashley Cooper, senior investigator on the study, said: "This is the first study to show that freedom to move around unsupervised in the local and wider neighbourhood is directly related to how physically active children are.

"These findings suggest that giving children more independence to move outside is related to greater levels of physical activity, which is important for health.

"But we also know that parents restrict how much independence they give their children for very good safety reasons.

"More work now needs to be done so we can discover how to get that balance right."