Halloween is associated with all things scary, spooky and slightly sinister. But if you really want to be frightened this Halloween look no further than some scary health and fitness facts; be afraid, be very afraid!
1. Over 30% of UK children are classified as overweight and children are developing cardiovascular problems which used to be associated with middle aged people
http://www.cardiacmatters.co.uk/facts-figures-heart-disease-uk.html
2. Between 1995 and 2009, the prevalence of obesity among boys aged 2-15 increased from 11 per cent to 16 per cent, and the equivalent increase for girls was from 12 per cent to 15 per cent.
3. The diets of UK children are particularly lacking in fruit and vegetables, oily fish and fibre. Intakes of several key nutrients remain below dietary recommendations. Iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc are especially low in some groups, whilst intakes of saturated fat and sugar exceed current targets
Ruxton CHS, Derbyshire E, (2011) Diet adequacy in UK schoolchildren, Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 41 Iss: 1, pp.20 – 33.
4. Less than 3% of 11-year-olds do the 60 minutes of exercise a day recommended by the Government.
5. Seventy per cent of eight-month-old babies have a salt (sodium chloride) intake higher than the recommended UK maximum level
6. The rate of osteoporosis is increasing, particularly in young women. Doctors have reported a worrying trend amongst young women and have identified low bone density linked to nutritional deficiencies from fad diets, binge drinking and lack of exercise
7. A recent study by SHEU (the Schools and Students Health Education Unit) reveals 31% of Year 10 females in the UK have nothing at all to eat for breakfast and 18% have nothing for lunch either (on the previous day of the study
8. The latest report by Childwise show children spend more time in front of a screen in one day (2.7 hours on average) than they spend exercising in an entire week.
I warned you it was frightening!
