THE Sport and Recreation Alliance (SRA) is calling for urgent action to tackle the inactivity crisis among English children after research revealed that four out of five under-16s are not getting the minimum recommended amount of exercise.

According to guidance from the chief medical officer, “all children and young people should engage in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours every day,” with vigorous activities which “strengthen muscle and bone incorporated at least three days a week.”

Moderate activities are those which will raise the heartbeat, such as riding a bike or games in the playground, while vigorous activities could be running fast or sports such as football and swimming.

But Sport England’s most recent data reveals that fewer than one in five children is hitting this target, with a further one in four doing an average of more than an hour’s activity every day.

That, however, leaves more than half of all under-16s who are doing less than an hour of activity every day, with a shocking one in three doing less than 30 minutes a day.

The SRA, the umbrella organisation that represents national governing bodies in the sports and leisure sector, has mapped these numbers to show how children in each local authority are doing.

In the worst-performing areas such as Sheffield, Sunderland, Westminster and Wolverhampton, only one in 10 children is meeting the physical activity target and almost half are doing less than 30 minutes of activity a day.

Speaking to MPs at a Westminster reception on Wednesday to launch the next stage of the SRA’s #RightToBeActive campaign, the organisation’s chief executive Lisa Wainwright said: “These results demonstrate the very real issue that faces our children and young people today.

“The fact that even in the best performing local authorities, only one third of children meet the minimum recommended levels of activity set by the chief medical officer is deeply concerning. It paints a clear picture of a national problem, which needs a local solution.”

Wainwright said the SRA will ask a supportive MP to table an early day motion calling for a debate on the duty local authorities have to “provide and promote physical activity opportunities for children and young people.”

That will require support from central government, she explained, as the current situation has been exacerbated by austerity-related cuts to local authority budgets.

“With better, joined-up working across government we can reverse the frightening trends these results point to,” said Wainwright.

“We want to help create a healthier, happier and more active nation. Acknowledging there is a problem is the start to the solution.

“Now government must work with the sector, schools, communities and families to get more of our youngsters active.”