How do we encourage children to do sport and exercise?

I am so excited to have Michelle Burns as part of the Physifun team. We are both so passionate about Physifun's goals and I know that Michelle will take Physifun UK from strength to strength.  I believe that Physifun offers a cost-effective and evidence based approach to helping children with motor skill difficulties and that intervening at an early age with Physifun will give these children the confidence and self-esteem to adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes sport and exercise. 


An article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (Vol 182, number 11, 2010) showed that children with possible Developmental Coordination Disorder were at a greater risk of obesity and being overweight, than children without the disorder. Surely, research like this should make governments question where they should be spending their money? Governments should give funding priority to those exercise programmes which help the children who have exercise and motor difficulties. These children need to be taught the skills in a therapeutic way so that they can reach a standard baseline of activity. All children need to be able to hop, skip, jump and catch a ball. These are the fundamental skills of sport and exercise. A child who cannot do these things will not be interested in exercise because (as we all know), no-one wants to do something that they feel they cannot do. So, what happens? The fit and able get fitter and more able and the less fit, less able, less co-ordinated get less fit, less able and (according to the Canadian researchers), more likely of being overweight. 


Governments of the world: spend your money on helping these children develop a life-long interest in sport by giving focus and priority to teaching ALL children the basic skills and then... I foresee a healthier society.