Parisa Eslambolchilar edited introduction.tex  over 10 years ago

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\section{Introduction}   Physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of preventable death - 2M/year worldwide (alcohol at 1.9M/year, 2001). Children between the ages of 5 and 18 require at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day; however, 41 percent of boys and only 30 percent of girls in Wales meet this target\footnote{http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/young-people-key-facts/index.html}. According to the Department of Health, more than 30 percent of UK children between the ages of 5 and 12 are obese; Wales is leading with 36 percent of children in this age group being obese\footnote{http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/04/obesityfacts/}. Childhood obesity leads to adult obesity and physical health issues (e.g. diabetes) diabetes and cardiovascular diseases)  later in life, which costs cost  the NHS and the government £5.1 billion per year. Physical activity levels of children in Wales were relatively stable between 2007 and 2010, with only around half (52-55\%) of children reporting 5+ active days per week\footnote{http://wales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/2012/120828sb762012en.pdf}. This means that current interventions are not having the necessary impact.