Paediatric Exercise Science and Health

Dear Colleagues,

A Special Issue on children’s physical activity and health, in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, is being organized. For detailed information on the journal, I refer you to http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph.

Physical inactivity is the fourth largest risk factor for non-communicable disease globally, stimulating politicians to take action to prevent further declines. Children’s physical activity worldwide is a concern. International guidelines recommend that children are active for an hour a day yet only 20% of children are sufficiently active worldwide (Lancet 2016).

While physical inactivity has been implicated in the childhood obesity epidemic, of equal importance are issues related to child development. The environment in all its forms is crucial in providing opportunities and challenges for children to grow, develop and learn in optimal fashion. Unfortunately, the environment, as a whole, presents significant barriers that limit children’s opportunities to engage in physical activity and afford children to spend a significant amount of their time in sedentary behaviours. Further the way that children interact in the social, physical and virtual environment are very different and continue to change at rapid rates as pervasive technology and Internet of things capture children in a spider web of technology. In the social milieu parents are less willing to give children independence and autonomy to move freely in their neighbourhoods, yet structured physical activity, particularly sport and dance have grown. Children who play in natural environments, take active transport opportunities particularly to school or maintain their activity from child to adulthood are in the minority. The aim of this Special Issue is to capture the current compelling science in children’s physical activity and sedentary time in the physical and social environment in the 21st century. The listed keywords suggest just a few of the many possibilities.

Prof. Dr. Gareth Stratton
Guest Editor

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