In a recent survey conducted in a busy city on the physical activities of schoolchildren aged eight to 10 years old, found a low level of physical activity among them.

On a typical school day, children usually get up between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. after an average sleep of nine hours or more, take a bath for 26 minutes, eat breakfast for 15 minutes, and spend on the average 20 minutes in going to school.

Majority of private schoolchildren travel to school by car or a school service while most public schoolchildren just walk to school. Physical education or P.E. as a subject is usually held once a week. Calisthenics is the most common activity during P.E. in public schools while in private schools; it is usually an outdoor activity.

At home, schoolchildren spend on the average eight minutes for exercise, half an hour for household chores, a little over one hour each for outdoor/indoor games and homework, and one hour and 46 minutes on watching television. Boys spend more time playing indoor/outdoor games while girls devote more time doing household chores. Private school children take a longer time in doing their school assignments than public schoolchildren.

Physical exercise is perceived to be very important by 97 percent of the children surveyed. However, when asked on their frequency of exercise, only about half of them exercise regularly, either daily or down to just once a week. The rest seldom or never engage at all in any exercise. Being busy, lazy or tired in that order are some of the reasons given by schoolchildren who do not exercise. On the other hand, children who regularly exercise do so to be healthy. The three most common forms of exercise among schoolchildren are basketball, walking/jogging, and cycling. Swimming is not a popular sport among public schoolchildren and so is table tennis among private schoolchildren.

Most schoolchildren still prefer to watch TV during their free time. Sports and outdoor games come only as the second most preferred recreational activity followed by reading.

The low level of physical activity among schoolchildren may contribute to the increasing number of obese children. Parents and school authorities should develop programs that will encourage children to engage more in physical activities for their overall well-being.

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