According to a recent study, obese children would be exercising more if the days were longer. This would seem like an obvious assumption considering how early on the darkness falls these days however; this does provide the evidence needed to once again promote the awareness of the changing of daylight savings for those who think this is necessary. Research published in the Journal of Physical Activity outlines the value of such an endeavour.
The study was carried out at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and 325 children in the south-east between 8 and 11 years were observed in terms of their activity levels. It was found that on brighter evenings, children were more active between the hours of five and eight o’ clock in the evening.
The researchers feel that if there were more hours of daylight than it would be an excellent way to promote a fit and healthy lifestyle and would also aid the prevention of childhood obesity.
The Daylight Saving Bill is being discussed at the House of Commons and it is proposing to have the clocks put forward by one hour for the entirety of the year. This would mean less of a disparity between the 22% of time spent outside the house on longer days compared with the 13% spent engaging in physical activity on shorter days. The study also showed that this was the case regardless of weather conditions.
This would also help business owners in terms of saving money on heating and lighting costs and their employees. This will also mean that Britain will have more hours of trading with Europe on a day to day basis. Estimates on savings UK businesses would make are colossal and are expected to reach around $3.5 billion.
The government want this change to take place throughout Britain so requires the consent of Wales and Scotland before any trial period is implemented. If the Daylight Saving Bill was passed, the UK would be on the same time as Central Europe and this would be on trial for three years.