Research from health and medical research institutes shows Australian kids spend more time indoors on digital devices, than they do playing outdoors with a quarter of them considered overweight.

The Heart Foundation is calling on schools to help improve kids’ physical fitness in its Jump Rope for Heart program and is supporting a new study which aims to understand if staying fit in adolescence decreases the risk of heart disease in adulthood.

These initiatives are underscored by a need to teach children, adults and the wider community about the importance of physical education and wellbeing as youth outdoor activity has declined over 40 years.

The Wire’s Toni Pankaluic spoke with Elizabeth Calleja, Head of Physical Activity from the Heart Foundation, on the importance of physical education particularly for children to live a heart-healthy life.

Image: Image courtesy of Yanapi Senaud/Unsplash

Produced By: Toni Pankaluic

Featured In Story: Elizabeth Calleja – The Head of Physical Activity from the Heart Foundation

First aired on The Wire, Monday 27 February