(Image Source: The Hindu)

BY JIAXI LU

You're watching multisource health news analysis from Newsy.

Toddlers need to sweat it out.
For the first time, UK government health experts are suggesting exercise for children under 5.
Fox News has the details.

“This week the British government will release new guidelines to fight childhood obesity. They say children ages five and younger should have a minimum of three hours of exercise every day. That includes swimming, playing and activity mats and walking. Official say research shows only 30% of our kids are getting the recommended amount of exercise."

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England, tells BBC News young children -- even babies -- should be encouraged to be active. This matters to their development through childhood and adolescence and to their disease profile in middle age and later life.

“People who are not physically active do have a higher incident of chronic disease -- of stoke, cancer, diabetes. So I want people to lead physically-active lives and protect themselves. And actually most people want to. So start with the children, help them do their 3 hours a day or more, and then they’ll get the best start they can."

And that healthy start is surely needed. The Daily Mail says experts predict that by 2050 almost two-thirds of children could be too heavy for their height.

“British children have been shown in studies to be among the laziest in the world, with most pre-schoolers only spending between two and two-and-a-half hours a day being active."

KCBS reports the new guidelines even include exercise for children too young to walk.

“The idea is to encourage children from birth to get used to the physical activity. For infants and toddlers who haven’t mastered the upright position, they can get exercise by crawling and playing on their stomachs or by learning to swim as you see right there."

But is three hours a day too much to ask? Blogger Amelia T. from Care2 writes, the idea of getting babies and toddlers physically active makes sense, but would also cause some problems for parents.

“...three hours of exercise a day seems like something that two working parents would have trouble providing, especially if the child went to a daycare.  Perhaps these new guidelines will encourage day-cares and preschools to provide physical activities for children. But otherwise, I don’t see how they can possibly be implemented on a large scale."

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