Context

An increasing number of children are classified as obese and sedentary.1 Poor physical fitness and obesity contribute risk towards type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).2 Unfortunately, the simple ‘cure’ for childhood obesity, ‘move more, eat less’, remains elusive. A constant stream of studies addressing this global health ‘epidemic’ have not led to significant progress, in part because add-on physical activity programmes do not compensate for the degree to which the environment, and our choices within it, has reduced physical movement in our daily routine. This problem is highlighted in schools, where physical education and active recess have been whittled away by economic constraints. …