The health of South Africa's kids is under siege

South African children are putting their health at risk because they watch too much television, eat and drink badly — and less than half play sport.

Released this morning, the latest Healthy Active Kids Report Card South Africa (HAKSA) is an analysis of the best studies on the physical activity and eating habits of South African children – coordinated by the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SISSA) and supported by Discovery Vitality.

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It shows that SA's children spend an average of three or more hours on smartphones and tablets or in front of the TV. It also reveals that social media accounts grew by 20% in 2014 and a further 10% in 2015. And, youth-dominated Instagram use grew by an astonishing 133% between 2014 and 2015.

This sedentary screen time, coupled with the fact that less than half of SA's children play an organised sport, and few do physical education at school, is taking its toll on our kids' health.

A Joburg survey found that children who spent more than four hours per day in front of a screen were twice as likely to be overweight. While the HAKSA study revealed that more than 50% of primary school children have below average motor control skills, which can negatively impact on their academic performance.  

The HAKSA study also found that SA teens drink more than one soft drink per day on average; have a weekly sugar intake three times higher than recommended; and their salt intake from snack foods alone is higher than the overall daily recommendation.

Nutrition isn't any better at a preschool level; the study concludes that one in four children is overweight or obese, and one in five stunted.

A concerning statistic is that the number of South Africans consuming fast food has grown by 10 million (from 20 million in 2009 to nearly 30 million in 2015) in recent years. Frequent fast food consumption is linked to soaring obesity rates and increasing rates of non-communicable diseases.