Young Aussies not active enough

Australia's preschoolers comprehensively fail to meet the nation's new guideline for physical activity.
Just 2.5% of children who took part in a Deakin University study were found to meet their new age-specific target of three hours of physical activity a day.
Instead, the Deakin University study found Australia's young children were spending 85% of their waking hours either sitting or standing still.
As Deakin University health researcher Trina Hinkley explained "the results of our study are concerning.
"Despite popular belief that young children are always on the go, the results of the Healthy Active Preschool Years study indicates that they are spending the majority of their time inactive."
The new âGet Up and Growâ activity guidelines, released by the Federal Government last week, also recommend that young children watch no TV at all, or less than one hour a day.
The research found the average television-watching time across all 501 children involved the study was 97 minutes a day.
A majority (63%) watched more than an hour of television daily while almost a third (27%) watched more than two hours.
The Melbourne-based study took in children aged three to five years, and who had not started school, and their activity was measured over eight days as they wore a monitoring device.
Their parents also completed a survey about their child's activities and things that might influence their physical activity.
It found while a child was sedentary for 85% of the time they were awake, they were minimally active (light walking or standing activities) for 11% of the time.
Moderate to vigorous activity (jogging or fast bike riding) accounted for just four% of the time they were awake.
Hinkley said the parents often reported that their children were "not as active as I was when I was as a child".
A major reason for this, she said, was parental "fear and safety concerns" about the social and built environment - from stranger danger fears to worries about traffic.
Hinkley also reported âthere were some parents who reported that they were even concerned about their children being in their own backyard without parental supervision.
"Also things like the suitability of playgrounds ... it was difficult for parents to find one that kept the children entertained that was also safe, so with shadecloth and fences."
The study also found five-year-olds spent only around 23 minutes engaged in moderate to vigorous activity, compared to around 45 minutes for three-year-olds.
"That activity levels appear to be decreasing at such a young age is of concern," Hinkley said, concluding âthis might suggest that even in this young age group, the older children are being guided into more sedentary behaviours rather than being supported to engage in active opportunities."
Boys were also found to be more active that girls, by about 11 minutes each day.