Daily Mile for school children spreads to Cork

Back in September of 2015, I had a post up on the site titled "Scottish Primary School is starting a running revolution to tackle childhood obesity". It was about how a school in Scotland was trying to get their children to exercise every day to improve their fitness levels and get them used to a culture of exercise.

What is The Daily Mile? The aim of The Daily Mile is simple – we want to get children fit by running for 15 minutes a day. Headteacher, Elaine Wyllie, founded The Daily Mile to tackle the obesity and poor levels of fitness of the children in her school. The great thing is that this daily exercise is not timetabled. Teachers take their classes out at a time of their choosing and it only takes 15 minutes. It’s simple – the kids don’t get changed, it gets them out of their seats and gives them an opportunity to go outside and socialise within their school community.

The concept gradually spread to the rest of the UK and is now in Ireland. There are several in Cork schools as can be seen from the map above (Nov 2018). This however is just a fraction of the schools in the county.

If you're a teacher or are interested in the Daily Mile concept then check out this website... https://thedailymile.ie/

Study shows children running one-mile a day improves their lives

 

Back in 2015, I had a post up about how a primary school in Scotland had introduced an exercise routine for their pupils where they ran/walked roughly a mile each day. The concept was soon copied by other schools in the UK.

A recent study has now shown that children who follow the daily exercise routine not only get leaner but also establish daily habits.

Naomi Brooks, a senior lecturer in sport at the University of Stirling said... “Children often learn about healthy eating and the benefits of physical activity at school, but the kids who are doing the Daily Mile aren’t just learning it in their minds; they are learning: ‘This is something I do every day, as part of my day, and this is how it makes me feel..’”

There are also other long-term consequences such as higher bone density which can be a health factor throughout their life.

According to an article in the Guardian.... "Late childhood and early adolescence are critical times for laying down bone, which reaches its peak density in our 20s, declining thereafter. The higher your bone density during youth, the lower your risk of fractures and osteoporosis in later life. The idea is that we try to put as much bone as possible ‘in the bank’ as youngsters. The mechanical stimulation of our body weight going through our bones, muscles and tendons when we jump up and down, stimulates our bone cells to grow and lay down new bone.”

The full article in the Guardian can be seen HERE