Exercise during childhood is important to optimise health in the
short and longer term. It is a common assumption that children naturally
lead active lifestyles. In reality, many children participate in very little
physical activity [1]. As a consequence, rates of childhood obesity and
metabolic disease have increased considerably, including premature
development of chronic diseases that were previously the domain of
the adult population [2–5]. Insufficient musculoskeletal loading during
childhood may be particularly deleterious to long term health, as bone
growth ceases in early adulthood, after which time the benefits of physical
activity for bone are markedly reduced. It has been proposed that if
adequate physical activity is not performed in youth, awindowof opportunity
to reduce osteoporotic fractures in later life may be missed [6–8].