6/27/2005
Sport Loses To TV And Video Games
AUSTRALIAN children are abandoning sport in favour of television and computer games. 26jun05
And authorities fear the trend will destroy the nation's reputation as a sporting power.Research which shows about 40 per cent of kids play no organised sport is ringing alarm bells for administrators.
The number of girls aged 5 to 14 playing organised sport has fallen 11 per cent in the past eight years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
And the least active 25 per cent of 10 to 12-year-olds spend less than 10 minutes a day doing vigorous physical activity.
A study by Deakin University in Victoria has found that few primary and secondary schools failed to achieve at least three hours a week of physical education and sport.
Results of the research have stunned sporting and health groups who say Australia's pride as a great sporting nation is being damaged.
"This frightening trend of escalating obesity, illnesses and death from our sedentary lifestyle will eventually cripple our health care system," champion marathon runner Robert de Castella said.
"We need to be doing 10 times more to combat this. These results are just the tip of the iceberg."
Mr de Castella, who is now the director of a fitness benchmarking organisation, said the educational agenda had been hijacked by emphasis on literacy and numeracy, resulting in other areas being neglected.
"If kids who have lost the ability to throw, run and jump do not develop the ability in primary school, they have no hope of doing it in secondary school," he said.
And authorities fear the trend will destroy the nation's reputation as a sporting power.Research which shows about 40 per cent of kids play no organised sport is ringing alarm bells for administrators.
The number of girls aged 5 to 14 playing organised sport has fallen 11 per cent in the past eight years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
And the least active 25 per cent of 10 to 12-year-olds spend less than 10 minutes a day doing vigorous physical activity.
A study by Deakin University in Victoria has found that few primary and secondary schools failed to achieve at least three hours a week of physical education and sport.
Results of the research have stunned sporting and health groups who say Australia's pride as a great sporting nation is being damaged.
"This frightening trend of escalating obesity, illnesses and death from our sedentary lifestyle will eventually cripple our health care system," champion marathon runner Robert de Castella said.
"We need to be doing 10 times more to combat this. These results are just the tip of the iceberg."
Mr de Castella, who is now the director of a fitness benchmarking organisation, said the educational agenda had been hijacked by emphasis on literacy and numeracy, resulting in other areas being neglected.
"If kids who have lost the ability to throw, run and jump do not develop the ability in primary school, they have no hope of doing it in secondary school," he said.
