Law that promotes 15-minutes of daily physical activity: How does it affect sedentary behavior and eating habits of schoolchildren?

Abstract

On Tuesday, March 3rd of this year, the Cámara de Diputados de Chile approved the bill that seeks to require 15 minutes of daily practice of physical activity at the beginning of the school day in educational establishments. The aim of the initiative is to encourage schoolchildren to practice physical activity and healthy habits. If it becomes law, the measure will be implemented in all types of educational establishments (public, charter and private schools) and educational levels (preschool, elementary and high school). This is excellent news for a country with increasing rates of overweight and obesity in childhood, reaching 50%. In this epidemiological scenario, it should be noted that obesity is a multifactorial disease which involves environmental aspects in its etiology. This includes the lifestyles of modern society characterized by inadequate eating habits and high sedentary behavior, which increase the risk of suffering from non-communicable diseases (NCD).