British children among the least active in the world, with exercise ‘stripped out’ of modern lives, by Laura Donnelly.

Last night Simon Stevens, head of the NHS, called for radical changes in family routines, describing exercise as a “magic pill” which would be a “pharmaceutical blockbuster” if only it could be bottled …

Mr Stevens urged families to make changes to daily routines, to protect the long-term health of their children. …

The head of the NHS said exercise has been shown to cut three per cent of strokes, prevent 30 per cent of cases of dementia, 30 per cent of osteoporosis, radically reduce breast cancers and bowel cancers, prevent depression, reduce stress, and eliminate type 2 diabetes.

Researchers said the typical modern lifestyle of spending a day in front of a computer, followed by an evening slumped in front of the television was proving fatal. …

Last week a study by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom found pre-school children are now spending an average of more than four hours a day looking at screens.

Among those aged five to 15 the figure rose again, to an average of five-and-a-half hours.

hat-tip Stephen Neil