Make you Fink on Friday

…Yes, I know I am a day late.

Outdoor play is an important source of exercise

Clock change ‘stops outdoor play’

Not putting the clocks back would help in the fight against child obesity, a study suggests.

According to research, children are more influenced by daylight than the weather when deciding whether or not to play outside.

UK researchers report that not changing the clocks would give more opportunities for active play.

It strengthens the public health arguments for proposed changes to daylight saving, they say.

The research, published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, studied the activity levels of 325 children in south-east England aged between eight and 11.

The children wore accelerometers to record the amount of exercise they did, and kept a record of their activities in a diary.

A team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University College London found the children did more exercise outside on longer days, particularly at the end of the day during summer.

This happened regardless of the likes of rain, cloud or wind.

Outdoor play was a bigger factor in overall physical activity than other factors such as structured sport sessions and cycling or walking to school, the team says.

Co-researcher Dr Anna Goodman, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the BBC: “This provides the most direct evidence yet that changing the clocks so that there is more daylight in the afternoon could increase children’s physical activity.”

She added: “The fact that kids spend more time playing outdoors and are more physically active overall on these longer days could be important at a population level for promoting their fitness and in preventing child obesity.

Source: BBC News Read more

Opinion:

So what they’re saying is once the clocks are put forward for Daylight Savings, leave them there.

I would prefer they didn’t mess with the time. Put it forward and leave it, okay; Don’t put it forward and leave it, okay. BUT, stop messing around!

What do you think?