Families should aim to move more

AUSTRALIANS aren’t meeting basic exercise guidelines, so Deakin University’s professors have a plan — exercise by stealth.

FREE gym passes and sporting equipment aren’t the answer to making families more active.

But finding ways to get parents moving with their kids, getting a dog and having a bucket of sport gear next to the back door are emerging as successful ways to get busy households moving together.

“Physical activity by stealth” is the latest tool researchers at Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition are pursuing as part of a “cultural shift” to increase exercise.

HOW TO LIVE HEALTHIER, HAPPIER LIVES: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY KEY TO BOOSTING MOOD

BMI HIDES OBESITY, WAIST BETTER MEASURE, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY AND MONASH UNIVERSITY STUDY FINDS

Josh Melican works hard to keep active with his two sons Eamon, 6, and Conor, 9. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

“We’re failing to meet guidelines, so we need to look at it a bit differently,” said IPAN’s co-director Professor Jo Salmon.

“What we’ve lost in our modern lives is to ambulate, just to move around,” Prof Salmon said. “People are busier and busier. Saying to people you’ve still got to cram in another hour or 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week; they’re struggling to do that.

“Huff-and-puff exercise is really important for your cardiovascular health.

“But if can we try to regain that light intensity; standing and moving, which we know will have some health benefits, then it’s really physical activity by stealth.”

Brothers Conor and Eamon Melican have reached an age where they can compete more fairly on the court. But it’s always more fun if their parents join them shooting hoops or riding along Merri Creek.

Josh Melican said while it wasn’t hard to get his boys, aged 9 and 6, keen for physical activity, the challenge was doing it as a family when both he and wife work full-time, and screen time can easily eat up much of the night.

“You’ve got to make sure you set aside that time for free play and outdoor play each day, to balance off against the screens,” Mr Melican said.

“But you can’t beat yourself up if something comes up and you don’t fit it in that night. You just need to bank that.”