Army urged to wage war on obesity in youngsters [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 December 2010
OUR schoolchildren are so unfit and overweight that a new Oireachtas report has called for the Army to be drafted into our classrooms.
The radical suggestion is made in a new study urging members of the Defence Forces to help our unhealthy students get into shape.
Most of them fail to meet the recommended minimum for physical education (PE) in schools, while obesity rates are growing very rapidly.
Up to 60 minutes' moderate to vigorous activity a day is recommended. But, according to the report, these basic targets are not being met by most.
It also points to a separate major study which found that the vast majority of Irish pupils spend more than the maximum recommended on 'screen time' -- that is, in front of their TVs, DVDs and computers.
To combat this, the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Women's Rights has said that soldiers and other military personnel could be used to support the delivery of sport and PE programmes in schools.
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