Other environmental risks
Children, physical activity and environmental health
The risk of childhood injury or death from traffic accidents is receiving increased attention by policymakers as a major environmental health hazard. But there is far less awareness of the multiple ways in which modern-day urban life constricts a child’s mobility and opportunities for physical activity – with far-reaching health impacts.
Growing evidence indicates that children, particularly in the developed world, establish an increasingly sedentary lifestyle very early on in life. A decline in physical activity levels is closely linked to the world wide epidemic of obesity, affecting developed countries in particular, but also some developing countries.