As kids across the UK head back to school, new research suggests that the majority of the 6 weeks will have been spent indoors with as little as 32 hours being spent outside all summer.
Two thirds of parents admitted that lack of outdoor activities, like scooting and riding a bike, is the main cause of the rise in child obesity.
Belfast, however, was the second best city in UK rankings, with kids spending an average 10.3 hours per week outside.
Looking at the cities across the UK, Birmingham ranked bottom and Newcastle right at the top with 13.3 hours on average spent outside each week.
- Birmingham – 5.8 hours
- Norwich – 6.6 hours
- Aberdeen – 7.8 hours
- Leeds – 7.9 hours
- Glasgow – 8.9 hours
- Manchester – 9 hours
- Oxford – 9.3 hours
- Coventry – 10 hours
- Belfast – 10.3 hours
- Newcastle – 13.3 hours
Yorkshire ranked the worst region with two thirds spending most of their time inside, whereas kids in Greater London clocked up the greatest number of hours outside.
The correlating data shows that 8% of kids across the UK spend only an hour a week outside playing, cycling or scooting. Whereas 19% of children in Manchester are reported as not getting more than an hour out of the house.
The alarming findings reveal that 3 in 4 parents spent their free time playing outdoors as kids.
The gradual change in habits is further highlighted when looking at over 65s – (90%) of whom said that they spent the majority of their time outdoors. Yet 1 in 3 of the 18-24s surveyed said the same.
Research by micro-scooters.co.uk
