Childhood Activity: What the Evidence Actually Says

Key takeaways

• Ages 5-18: an average of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day
• Under 5s who can walk: at least 180 minutes a day spread through the day
• Most useful single change: Include impact activities such as running, jumping and skipping.
• Commonest mistake: Framing activity as a weight intervention.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

What it is

The physical activity recommended for children and young people. It sits within Childrens Health. What follows are the published numbers, not the ones that get passed around.

The numbers, in one place

What helps

Here is what the evidence supports doing. Some of it will already be familiar.

• Include impact activities such as running, jumping and skipping
• Build activity into travel, such as walking or cycling to school
• Make it play rather than exercise for younger children
• Limit long unbroken periods of sitting

What to avoid

Things that seem reasonable and are not.

• Framing activity as a weight intervention
• Early single-sport specialisation, which raises overuse injury risk
• Long unbroken sedentary periods

Where to go next

• Childhood Activity: What to Do, in Order
• Childhood Activity: Separating Myth From Guidance
• Childhood Activity — the reference entry
• Childhood Rashes: What Published Guidance Supports
• What the Guidance Really Says About Child Mental Health

When to speak to a doctor

See a GP for joint pain that persists, limping, pain that wakes a child at night, swelling of a joint, or a child who is reluctant to use a limb. Night pain and persistent bone pain in children always warrant assessment. Seek urgent help for a hot swollen joint with fever.

Where this comes from

• UK Chief Medical Officers — Physical Activity Guidelines for children
• NHS — Physical activity guidelines for children

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.