Meaningful Movement is a Must for all Ages

Dr Richard Keegan's research develops physical literacy in Australian children

Taking Physical Literacy a step in the right direction

Very few of us are as physically active as we need to be.

Medibank puts the cost of physical inactivity to the Australian economy at $13.8 billion per year. That includes up to $1.5 billion in healthcare costs, $9.3 billion in lost productivity, and $3.8 billion in premature mortality.

In fact, as University of Canberra researcher Dr Richard Keegan points out, "Sedentary lifestyles are the fourth highest risk factor in reducing Australian productivity, behind smoking, high blood pressure and obesity."

"Most worryingly," he adds, "it's not just adults that are severely inactive, but the trend is similar with children's activity levels decreasing with age."

Dr Keegan is an expert in sport and exercise psychology and is investigating physical activity. Since arriving from the UK in 2013, he has been investigating movement – or the lack of it – across Australia.

His research has led him to the important emerging concept of "physical literacy". This is the world of learning and movement experiences that open up to you as you become able, confident and motivated to move – that is, physically literate. When you consider that this current generation of children is predicted to be the first to have shorter lives than their parents, then the importance of his research is obvious.

As Dr Keegan says,

"Giving children the ability, confidence and motivation to move at every opportunity seems a really worthwhile thing to study."

His plan is simple and realistic. It's about starting with kids, letting them know that the human body is designed to move, and allowing them to feel the joy of interacting successfully with the physical world.

As a part of the plan, Dr Keegan and his University of Canberra colleagues are working to create a culture of movement by developing the tools and programs teachers and parents need to get children moving.

"If we educate our children physically, then we can produce physical literacy," he explains. "It's not about creating future world champions or even cardiovascular fitness, those are the things that follow from physical literacy."