Former Mayor sees Red at child obsesity. Stephen Kent reports.
Ken Livingstone has suggested that if re-elected as Mayor of London, he would combat rising child obesity levels by opening up privately owned gyms for state school children to use during the day.
The former Mayor said: ‘There are hundreds of gyms all over London that are empty throughout the day. Many are a short walk from schools. Why not let the kids use them for free?’
Speaking at a conference organised by the Institute for Government, Livingstone also recommended a return to levels of physical education last seen in Britain in the 1970s. This would mean more compulsory sporting activities before, during and after normal school hours.
‘We should have our kids go through the same activities and programmes that we had to do when we were younger. Since the nineties we have been far too lenient on this issue, and I believe with the Olympics just passing, now is the perfect time to bring it up to the forefront once again.’
In 2011 an NHS study showed that just over a third of of 11-year-olds and almost a quarter of four and five-year-olds are now classified as overweight or obese.