CHILDREN begin turning into couch potatoes from as young as seven, according to a new university study.

Traditionally, it has been assumed that physical activity tails off among children in teenage years.

But a Newcastle University-led study has discovered the decline appears to come much earlier.

The research, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, also found there is no evidence to suggest that the decline is greater among girls than it is among boys, as has previously been assumed.

Researchers say the prevailing view among policy makers and health professionals has been that physical activity levels during childhood are adequate, but fall sharply during adolescence, and that the decline is significantly greater among girls.

Professor Ashley Adamson, co-author of the research from Newcastle University’s Human Nutrition Research Centre, said: “Our study questions the concept of the adolescent girl as a priority for research and policy efforts in physical activity.

“Future research and public health policy should focus on preventing the decline in physical activity which begins in childhood, not adolescence, in both girls and boys”.

For the study, physical activity among 400 children from Gateshead, aged between seven and 15 years, was measured using a lightweight, portable monitor worn for seven days and removed only at night and for bathing and swimming.

As a back-up, families were asked to log when the devices were worn each day.

Overall, the total volume of physical activity fell from the age of seven onwards in both boys and girls, with declines no steeper during adolescence than in earlier childhood.

Researchers say no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, because the study was observational and confined to North-East England.