Eight million young people prisoners in their own homes

Scout Association - 07/02/2008

Research released today by The Scout Association has revealed that young people in the UK are spending worryingly little time outside engaging in the activities that enable them to enjoy a longer and healthier life. The findings, commissioned to coincide with the launch of The Scout Association’s ‘KidsOutdoors’ campaign, highlight how 8 million young people between the ages of 7-18 (89%) spend far less time engaged in physical activity per week than is recommended by the Department of Health.

The Government recommends that Children should accumulate at least one hour or more of moderate physical activity most days of the week. The research also identified that over 600,000 (7%) young people between the ages of 7-18 spend no time at all participating in outdoor physical activities outside of school.

The research questioned both young people and their parents on their attitudes to the outside world and found that whilst both groups appreciated the benefits, barriers such as a lack of outdoor space, low knowledge of local activity, concern for personal safety, the pressures of school work and economic constraints meant that the positive attitude was rarely translated into action. Screen based activities in the home still remain the most popular uses of young people’s leisure time.

In response to these statistics, The Scout Association is today launching ‘KidsOutdoors’, a campaign aimed at getting young people and their parents outside and participating in a million new outdoor adventures across the UK. The campaign is also encouraging other charities and companies to sign up and tackle the problem as a coalition, with the British Heart Foundation, Outward Bound ®, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, and NCH - The Children's Charity all signed up already.

Specifically, the five campaign objectives are to:

1.      Encourage parents and young people to engage in 1 million outdoor adventures across the UK

2.      Call for a halt to the erosion of outdoor space for physical activity (including playing fields, swimming pools, and public gardens)

3.      Provide more information for young people and parents on what is going on in their local area

4.      Raise £10 million for investment into facilities and logistics to encourage young people in the UK to experience outdoor adventure

5.      Ensure more adults volunteer to work with young people in their local communities.

Katie Carter, 16, an Explorer Scout from Essex: “Getting active outdoors has all kinds of benefits and above all is really good fun. With so much going on up and down the country day in day out, there is no reason not to have the feel good factor!

“Whether it’s going for a walk, having a kick about with your friends in the local park or doing something more adventurous such as caving, it all helps. The main point is that there is no excuse to sit in front of your television!”

The campaign will be focussed at www.kidsoutdoors.com where the emphasis will be on user-generated content such as blogs, video and images of activities, that demonstrate just how fun and easy outdoor activity in a safe and secure environment is.

Chief Scout, Peter Duncan, said:

“The findings of this report should come with a national health warning. It is a fact that young people who spend more time outdoors are healthier than those who do not and at the moment the outlook is bleak.

“Scouting has chosen to launch the ‘KidsOutdoors’ campaign because it already encourages 400,000 young people into the outdoors every week of the year. The campaign is for all of the 14 million young people in the UK. It doesn’t matter who you are, but the message is simply to get out there and get involved in the adventure.”

David Barker, Head of Communications for British Heart Foundation said:

“With predictions that one in four children will be obese by 2050 (Tackling Obesity: Future Choices, Foresight Report, October 2007), it is essential that we get children and young people more active. Physical activity can help build a healthy heart, develop strong muscles and bones and may help reduce the risk of some chronic diseases in later life.

 “The Scout Associations Kids Outdoors initiative is a great campaign and will help young people to get the recommended daily dose of at least one hour of moderate intensity exercise each day.”

Evidence shows that active people have a longer life, less risk of developing many diseases, greater well-being, less anxiety and depression, lower stress levels, lower rates of smoking and substance misuse, greater ability to function at work and home, improved sleep, better maintenance of a healthy weight and increased social opportunities.