Birmingham Friends of the Earth Action Briefing Dec 98/Jan 99

School run 'may harm children'

Driving children to school is thought, by anxious parents, to be the best way to protect their young: shielding them from the possible risks of being abducted, molested or run over. A recent report points out that anxious parents are actually storing up health problems in later life for their offspring.

Writing in the Guardian (7/9/98), Sarah Hall observes, 'Driving children to school may do them more harm than good - increasing their risk of obesity, and their future likelihood of heart disease and hip fractures.'

The article reports a study conducted by the Institute of Child Health based on research over 20 years. It found that the proportion of primary school children walking to school had fallen from 72 per cent to 59 per cent since the 1970s.

The researchers found that walking to school accounted for 41 per cent of the average distance walked by all children annually. Without that exercise, the ever-increasing levels of child obesity could rise even higher to match the trend in the car-dependent United States, where one in five children is obese.

Substituting a car journey for the walk to school may jeopardise a child's future health, the report warns since sedentary children are likely to be sedentary adults - more prone to heart disease, hypertension, mental health disorders and diabetes.

The research also found a direct link between levels of childhood activity and the risk of the bone disease osteoporosis, with the risk of hip fractures increasing if children do not exercise.

Ben Plowden, director of the Pedestrians Association, which commissioned the report, said it showed just how great the cost of the school run could be. He also renewed his association's call for better pedestrian crossings on school routes, traffic calming around schools, and 'walk pooling' schemes.

John Davison

Nottingham primary school children have recently been issued with free school bags bearing the retro-reflective legend, "Walking to school is cool" -Ed