Keeping active guidelines

Being active every day is important for the healthy growth and development of babies, toddlers and preschoolers.

For this age group, physical activity of all intensities should be encouraged, including both light moving around and more energetic activity.

How to keep your baby, toddler or infant active

Before your baby begins to crawl, you can keep them physically active by encouraging them to grasp and reach for toys, getting them to move their limbs, head and body around throughout the day and during supervised floor play, including tummy time. Once your baby can move around themselves, encourage them to be as active as possible in a safe, supervised and nurturing play environment.

When your child can walk on their own, they should be physically active for at least three hours every day. You can spread this throughout the day, indoors or outdoors. This can include light activity such as general getting up and walking around or light playing like running, jumping and skipping. Ensure some of this time includes more active play, such as riding a bike, going swimming, using a climbing frame, chasing and ball games. These are all great ways of getting you toddler active. Read more about activities you can do together.

Why it's important to keep all children under 5 active

Children under 5 should not be inactive for long periods, except of course when they're asleep. Watching TV, travelling by car, bus or train, or being strapped into a buggy for long periods of time are not good for a child's growth and development. There's an increasing amount of evidence that such behaviour can increase their risk of poor health.

Children under 5 who are overweight can improve their health by meeting the activity guidelines, even if their weight doesn't change. To achieve and maintain a healthy weight, they may need to do additional activity and make dietary changes. If you think your child may be overweight and would like more advice, speak to your GP, midwife or health visitor.

It's important for children and young people to keep active and to grow up strong and healthy into adulthood by doing exercises that strengthen bones and muscles.

To maintain a basic level of health, children and young people aged 5 to 18 need to do:

• at least 60 minutes of aerobic activity every day - this can be anything from cycling, walking, skateboarding or swimming
• on 3 days a week, these activities should involve exercises for strong muscles, such as football, gymnastics, or climbing, and exercises for strong bones, such as dancing, aerobics and tennis.

The best way to achieve 60 minutes of aerobic activity each day is to build it in to your daily routine. Try walking or cycling to school, playground games at break times, and activities or sports at weekends.

Check your local leisure centres to find out what sports you can get involved in. There is something for everyone, think about trying something new. Popular activities with young people include dancing, karate, football, swimming and gymnastics. Schools often have activities in the evenings to help you keep active.

Read about the different types of exercise and how you can achieve them.

To stay healthy, adults aged 19-64 should try to be physically active every day and aim for one of the following:

• at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every week and strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

• 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

• a mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week. For example, two 30-minute runs plus 30 minutes of fast walking equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

Read more about the different types of exercise and the range of activities you can do to achieve them.

To keep active over the age of 65 and improve your health, you need to do two types of physical activity - aerobic and strength exercise. Try to be active every day and do one of the following:

• at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every week and strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

• 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity every week and strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

• a mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week. For example, two 30-minute runs, plus 30 minutes of fast walking, equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, and strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

Read about the different types of activity and how you can get started.