Discovery recently published the results of their latest The Healthy Active Kids South Africa (HAKSA) Report Card 2014, which is basically a look at  the current state of South African children’s health with particular reference to physical activity, healthy eating and maintaining a healthy weight.

According to Discovery, the programme is a review of the latest research on children’s health habits from how much they play, how much fast food they eat, how much TV they watch and how much support they get for making healthy choices at home and school.

The information refers to children aged 6 to 18 years and provides an evidence-based benchmark and advocacy tool to help promote healthy habits.

To be honest, I expected the results to be worse. Having worked with some other brands and seen the obesity and malnutrition stats in South Africa, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. However, a “D” rating of schoolkids’ health in South Africa isn’t great.

While the report is easy to understand and follow, and has infographics and a great layout, it’s still quite long, so I’ve only included the facts and visuals that interested me particularly. You can find the full report here (it’s a worthwhile read) and for more info on Discovery’s Vitality Schools programme, head here.

Background

“The effects of poor nutrition and sedentary living. South Africa is home to more than 18.5 million children and young people.
There are concerning trends for inactivity and obesity, even in the face of widespread poverty and food insecurity. In urban youth, obesity, overweight and inactivity are on the rise. These patterns mirror global trends and have led to the fairly shocking prediction that children born from 2000 onwards might, for the first time in many generations, have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.”

The stats

23% of girls and 10% of boys aged 10 to 14 are overweight or obese and 27% of girls and 9% of boys aged 15 to 17 are overweight or obese.

More than two-thirds of adolescents eat fast food at least three times a week.

The percentage of South African consumers over the age of 16 who eat fast food at least once a month has increased from 65% in 2008 to 78% (26.5 million) in 2012.

More than two-thirds of adolescents consumed fast foods at least three times a week.

120g: the amount of sugar urban South African adults have each day.
• 12.6g: the maximum amount of sugar we should have a day.
• 50 to 100g: the amount of sugar children typically have each day.
• 15g: the recommended maximum daily limit for children.
This includes what you add to foods such as cereal and tea as well as what
is already in processed foods.

WHO recommendation: 5g salt a day. South Africans eat between 7.8 to 9.5g a day. The lunchbox staple, bread, contributes a large portion of salt to children’s diets. Bread is the single greatest contributor to salt intake in South Africans. Tuckshop favourites such as potato chips, French fries, kotas (bunny chow), and pies as well as frequent take-aways contribute to high salt intakes.

A diet high in salt is a contributing factor to the development of hypertension in children and adolescents. Hypertension is a growing problem in South African children with 11% of children and 23% of adolescents affected. It is likely that children have a high salt intake, thus putting them at risk for chronic disease.

The total number of reported vegetable gardens increased from 6 503 in 2010 to 8 894 in 2014 and to 63% of participating schools.

Children between 10 and 17 watch an average of 3 hours of TV a day increasing to more than 3.5 hours a day over weekends.

1 in 3 children over age 15 use the internet.

In 2011, Mxit had 44 million registered accounts in SA, a quarter of which belonged to teenagers.

Children spend:
– Over three hours a day learning

– Nearly two hours socialising

– Over an hour listening to the radio.

South African children spend a large proportion of their time in sedentary behaviour, the most concerning of which is screen time. For this reason, South Africa scores an F.

More than 50% of boys and girls report being very active on weekends.

During and after school, most primary school learners spend at least four hours playing outdoors.

Boys are more active than girls.

Just over 50% of children report being very active over weekends.

Lower socio-economic status was associated with around 1.5 hours more active play per day, less sedentary time, and more walking for transport.

Less than two-thirds of children participate in weekly physical education classes.

The average time spent in physical education classes was 30 to 40 minutes a week.

In urban primary schools, more than a third of 10 year olds (34%) did not have physical education during the week. Again, higher income schools enjoyed greater participation.

Nearly 40% of high school girls in one study were insufficiently active and in all studies, boys were more active than girls.