The majority of children are eating well and exercising enough. That’s the good news about childhood eating, exercise levels and weight revealed in the 2007 Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey.

Funded jointly by government and industry, through the Australian Food and Grocery Council, the objective of the Children’s Survey was to assess food and nutrient intake, physical activity participation and to measure weight, height and waist circumference in a sample of 4,487 children aged 2–16 years randomly selected from across Australia.

Among their findings were:

• In general, children consumed a wide variety of foods including cereals, fruits and vegetables, dairy or dairy substitutes, meat or meat substitutes, beverages, snack and confectionery foods.
• Children generally consumed food and drinks that provided sufficient energy and were adequate for most nutrients, without the need for additional supplements.
• The majority of children (72%) were found to be a healthy weight for their height. Of the remaining, 5% were underweight, 17% overweight and 6% obese.
• The majority of children aged 9–16 met the guidelines for moderate to vigorous physical activity. On any given day, there was a 69% chance that any given child would get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity.

Calcium & magnesium levels low

But there were some nutritional issues of concern, particularly for calcium and magnesium levels:

• The older girls (14–16 years) appeared to be most at risk of not meeting their dietary requirements for calcium (82–89% did not meet the Estimated Average Requirement -EAR). Magnesium was the other nutrient found to be potentially at risk (56% did not meet the EAR)
• Similarly, older boys (14–16 years) were least likely to reach their EAR for calcium (44% did not meet the EAR ) and magnesium (34% did not meet the EAR).

For ways to help the family increase calcium levels, see the article on dairy foods in FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

Too much TV or computer time

It seems our children are too attached to a sedentary lifestyle in front of a TV or computer screen. The Survey identified that 67% of 9-16 year olds exceeded the guidelines of 120 minutes of screen time each day.

As well, adolescent girls achieved lower levels of physical activity than boys and fewer girls aged 14–16 years complied with the physical activity guidelines than boys. Underweight and obese children tended to have a lower physical activity level than children of normal weight, so encouraging more exercise by this group is important.

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