ISSUES
: Body Confidence
Chapter 2: Self-esteem
39
Study finds physically active children are
happier and more confident
Change4Life and Disney’s 10 minute shake up campaign launches with release of
new study on the benefits of physical activity for children.
2
July 2015 marked the launch
of this year’s ‘Change4Life 10
minute shake up’ campaign
with Disney. The campaign aims
to encourage children to do ten
minute bursts of moderate to
vigorous activity, inspired by Disney
characters, throughout the day,
and every day, in order to meet
the recommended 60 minutes of
physical activity children need.
This year’s campaign launches to
coincide with the publication of an
evidence review by British Heart
Foundation (BHF) researchers
from the University of Oxford and
Loughborough University, which
identifies the direct benefits that
physical activity has on children in
terms of their physical, social and
emotional development.
The new review points to strong
evidence that physical activity
and sport has a positive impact
on children’s social skills and self-
esteem. The evidence review also
identified further social benefits
for children as a result of physical
activity,
including
increased
confidence and peer acceptance,
alongside a link to friendship.
Review author Professor Charlie
Foster commented:
“The positives of exercise on
children’s mental wellbeing are
less well known than the physical
benefits. The evidence showed
a strong link between physically
active children and improved self-
esteem, confidence, attention span
and even academic achievements.”
Over a third of children in the UK
are overweight, yet 79% of parents
with an overweight child do not
recognise that they are, and of those
that do, 41% do not realise that it is
a health risk. Furthermore, parents
tend to overestimate how active
their children are. Change4Life with
Disney aims to inspire children to
get active using Disney characters
and stories as encouragement.
New for this year’s campaign, the
Change4Life 10 Minute Shake Up
game allows kids to join one of four
Disney teams: Frozen, Toy Story,
Monsters and Big Hero 6 and help
their team win by doing as many
‘shake ups’ as they can every day.
To mark today’s campaign launch,
Change4Life and Disney are hosting
England’s largest ever interactive
PE lesson. An exclusive ten minute
shake up will be available to
schools from 9am on Thursday 2
July. The film stars Ricky Wilson,
Kaiser Chiefs frontman and TV
judge on
The Voice
who is also a
keen runner and fitness enthusiast.
Ricky will guide children through a
ten minute shake up game inspired
by the moves of Disney characters
from the shake up teams.
This is the second year that
Change4Life has teamed up with
Disney. Last year’s campaign
resulted in the nation’s kids being
active for an extra 104 million
minutes of the summer.
Professor Kevin Fenton, National
Director of Health and Wellbeing
at Public Health England (PHE),
commented:
“Levels of childhood obesity are
unacceptably high – currently one
in five primary school children is
overweight or obese. This latest
review reinforces the essential
health and wellbeing benefits of
being physically active. Breaking
up the 60 minutes of physical
activity that children need each day
into ten minute bursts will be more
appealing and manageable for
children and parents alike.”
Public Health Minister, Jane Ellison,
said:
“Exercise is really important for
children, and it’s vital that we
encourage them to form healthy
habits to last throughout their life.
“The 10 minute shake up
programme is great for introducing
children to manageable, bite-size
chunks of activity – and, best of all,
it’s fun. With the summer holidays
coming up, it’s ideal for parents and
children to get active together.”
Marianthi O’Dwyer, Vice President
and Head of Living Well at Disney
UK and Ireland said:
Following on from the success of
last year’s campaign, we’re excited
to be partnering with Change4Life
for a brand new ten minute shake
up. This year children will have the
chance to join one of four Disney-
themed teams, which we hope
will inspire them to get even more
active this summer.
“Disney’s stories are experienced
and enjoyed by children around the
world, so we believe we can have a
positive influence. Our partnership
with Change4Life is part of Disney’s
commitment to use our stories and
characters to inspire and encourage
life-long healthy behaviours in
families.”
2 July 2015
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The above information is
reprinted with kind permission
from Public Health England.
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further information.
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