Physical activity guidelines for children and young people

How much physical activity do children and young people aged 5-18 need to do to keep healthy?

To stay healthy or to improve health, young people need to do three types of physical activity each week: aerobic, muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activity.

The amount of physical activity you need to do each week is determined by your age. Click on the links below for the recommendations for other age groups:

• early childhood (under 5 years old)
• adults (19-64 years old)
• older adults (65 and over)

Physical activity for young people aged 5-18

To maintain a basic level of health, children and young people aged 5-18 need to do:

At least 60 minutes (1 hour) of physical activity every day, which should be a mix of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as fast walking, and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as running.

On three days a week, these activities should involve muscle-strengthening activities, such as push-ups, and bone-strengthening activities, such running.
Many vigorous-intensity aerobic activities can help you meet your weekly muscle-and bone-strengthening requirements, such as running, skipping, gymnastics, martial arts and football.

What counts as moderate-intensity aerobic activity?
Examples of activities that require moderate effort for most young people include:

Don't sit for too long

Children and young people should minimise the amount of time they spend sitting watching TV, playing computer games and travelling by car when they could walk or cycle instead.

• walking to school
• playing in the playground
• skateboarding
• rollerblading
• walking the dog
• riding a bike on level ground or with few hills
• pushing a lawn mower

Moderate-intensity aerobic activity means you're working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat. One way to tell if you're working at a moderate intensity is if you can still talk but you can't sing the words to a song.
 
What counts as vigorous-intensity aerobic activity?
Examples of activities that require vigorous effort for most young people include:

• playing chase
• energetic dancing
• aerobics
• running
• gymnastics
• playing football
• martial arts such as karate
• riding a bike fast or on hills

Vigorous-intensity aerobic activity means you're breathing hard and fast, and your heart rate has gone up quite a bit. If you're working at this level, you won't be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.
 
What counts as muscle-strengthening activity?

Healthy weight

• Children and young people who are overweight can improve their health by meeting the activity guidelines, even if they don’t lose weight.
• To reach a healthy weight, they may need to do more than the recommended 60 minutes of activity a day and make changes to their diet.

For young people, muscle-strengthening activities are those that require them to lift their own body weight or to work against a resistance, such as climbing a rope.

Examples of muscle-strengthening activities suitable for most young people include:

• games such as tug of war
• rope climbing
• sit-ups
• push-ups
• swinging on playground equipment or bars
• gymnastics
• resistance exercises with exercise bands, weight machines or hand-held weights
• rock climbing

Children and young people should take part in activities that are appropriate for their age and stage of development.

What counts as bone-strengthening activity?
Bone-strengthening activities are those that have an impact on the bones. They help bone growth and strength. 

Examples of bone-strengthening activities suitable for most young people include:

• games such as hopscotch
• hopping, skipping and jumping
• skipping rope
• running
• sports such as gymnastics, football, volleyball and tennis

Children and young people should take part in activities that are appropriate for their age and stage of development.

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