Australia's children

Participating in physical activity and limiting sedentary behaviour is central to a child’s health, development and psychosocial wellbeing. Regular activity supports brain development, bone strength, muscle control, balance and coordination, and helps to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Being active can positively affect sleep patterns, mental health, concentration, self-esteem and confidence (DoH 2009, 2017a).

Participation in sufficient levels of physical activity is also important for cardiovascular, metabolic and musculoskeletal health, and plays a critical role in the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers (WHO 2010). Australia has developed Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines which outline the amount of physical activity necessary for children and young people to obtain health benefits, and recommendations for reducing time spent in front of screens (DoH 2017a) (Box 1).

The most recent data available on physical activity in children at the time of publication come from the ABS National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2011–12 (NNPAS), and the ABS Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Physical Activity (AATSIHS) 2012–13. Children are reported as meeting the guidelines each day if they achieved the recommended levels of physical activity and/or screen time every day in the 7 days before being surveyed, with the exception of Indigenous data which reflects the 3 days before being surveyed (Box 2).

How many children are doing enough physical activity?

According to self-reported data from the ABS NNPAS, in 2011–12:

• less than one-quarter (23%) of children aged 5–14 undertook the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity every day
• less than one-third (32%) met the screen-based activity guidelines
• only 1 in 10 (10%) children met both sets of guidelines each day (Figure 1).

Children aged 10–14 were less likely than those aged 5–9 to have met:

• physical activity guidelines (15% compared with 32%)
• screen-time guidelines (26% compared with 39%)
• both sets of guidelines (5% compared with 16%) (Figure 1).

On average, children aged 5–14 spent just over 2 hours (123 minutes) each day sitting or lying down for screen-based activities, with only 3.5 minutes of this being for homework (ABS 2013b).

Children aged 10–14 spent more time in front of screens (145 minutes a day, on average) than children aged 5–9 (102 minutes) (ABS 2013b).

Figure 1: Proportion of children aged 5–14 who met the physical and screen-based activity guidelines on all 7 days, by age group, 2011–12

Note: Met recommendations in the 7 days before interview.

Chart: AIHW. Source: ABS 2013a.

While there were no differences between the proportion of boys and girls aged 5–14 meeting the physical activity guidelines and both sets of guidelines, girls (38%) were more likely than boys (27%) to meet screen-time guidelines. On average, girls spent 115 minutes a day in front of screens, compared with 131 minutes for boys, with only 4 and 3 minutes of this being for homework (Figure 2) (ABS 2013b).

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of children aged 2–4 met the recommended 180 minutes of physical activity each day. However:

• just over one-quarter (26%) met the screen-based activity guideline
• only one-fifth (20%) met both physical and screen-based activity guidelines (ABS 2013b).

Boys and girls were equally as likely to meet each set of guidelines. On average, children aged 2–4 spent 83 minutes a day in front of screens (ABS 2013b).

Figure 2: Average minutes spent engaged in screen-based activities, children aged 5–14, by type of activity and sex, 2011–12

Chart: AIHW. Source: ABS 2013b.

What types of physical activity are children doing?

The 2018 AusPlay survey estimated participation in organised physical activities outside of school hours at least once a week for:

• 65% (956,000) of children aged 5–8
• 78% (740,000) of children aged 9–11
• 72% (652,000) of children aged 12–14 (ASC 2019).

The most popular activity for children was swimming, with just under 1.7 million children aged 0–14 (34%) participating in organised swimming activities at least once in 2018. After swimming, the most popular organised activities for children were:

• football/soccer (700,000, or 15%)
• recreational dancing, (485,000, or 10%)
• gymnastics (484,000, or 10%)
• Australian rules football (390,000, or 8.1%) (ASC 2019) (Figure 2).

Figure 3: Top 10 most popular organised sport and leisure physical activities for children aged 0–14, 2018

Notes

1. Data was collected through the child’s parent or guardian and relate to organised out-of-school sports and activities. Athletics and track and field include jogging and running.
2. Data based on participation in activities at least once a year.

Chart: AIHW. Source: ASC 2019.

Do physical activity levels vary by population group?

In 2011–12, children living in Major cities (20%) were less likely to have met the physical activity guidelines than children living in other areas (30%). However, children in Major cities (32%) were similarly likely to have met the screen-based activity guidelines as those in other areas (33%), and to have met both sets of physical and screen-based activity guidelines (9.1% and 13%, respectively).

Children in the lowest and highest socioeconomic areas met the physical activity guidelines at similar rates (24% and 25%, respectively). However, children living in areas of lower socioeconomic disadvantage were more than twice as likely to have met both sets of guidelines as those living in areas of greater disadvantage (13% compared with 5.5%, respectively) (Figure 3).

In 2012–13, while Indigenous children and non-Indigenous children aged 5–14 were equally as likely to have met the screen-time guidelines, Indigenous children were more likely to have met the physical activity guidelines (54% compared with 41%, respectively) and both sets of guidelines (29% compared with 22%, respectively) (Box 2).

Figure 4: Children aged 5–14 who met both physical and screen-based activity recommendations, by selected population groups, 2011–12

(a) Regional & remote includes Inner regional, Outer regional and Remote areas.

Note: Met recommendations each day in the 7 days before interview.

Chart: AIHW. Source: ABS 2013a.

Data limitations and development opportunities

In 2017, the Australian Government reviewed the Australian physical activity guidelines for children aged 0–5 to incorporate a 24-hour movement approach following Canadian guidelines (DoH 2017b). This approach emphasises the integration of all movement behaviours during the day, including physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep. However, there is currently no national data to show how children aged 0–5 are faring in line with these guidelines.

There are no consistent data available to monitor long-term trends in physical activity in children, as surveys that collect comprehensive data on time spent engaging in physical and sedentary activity are conducted infrequently. The most recent physical activity data for children come from the ABS National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2011–12 and no trend data are currently available. However, under the Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study, the ABS National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey is scheduled to be conducted again in 2023.

Where do I find more information?

For information on:

• physical activity levels among different age groups, see: Physical activity across the life stages and Australia’s Health 2018, Insufficient physical activity.
• physical activity levels among young people aged 15–24, see: Level of physical activity in the National Youth Information Framework indicators.