CHILDREN in Thurrock are at risk of being "less intelligent" because of chronic inactivity, a GP has claimed.

Dr William Bird addressed Thurrock Council's health and wellbeing board on this week as a report on a bid by Active Essex for Sports England funding was discussed.

Dr Bird, chairman of Active Essex, revealed inactivity among children in Essex is 26 per cent while in Thurrock 42 per cent of children are inactive. Figures also show 34 per cent of adults in Thurrock are classed as inactive against 25 per cent in Essex.

However the GP said more leisure centres or swimming pools were not the answer.

He said: "We now know that's the completely wrong way of addressing it. Activity is the spontaneous activity that takes place around your house, around your streets.

"People have to feel three things, you've got to feel safe, valued and that you belong if you have those three things you will want to go out and go to the park.

"If you don't feel safe or valued or that you belong you'll want to stay in and hunker down perhaps stop your children going out because it's an unsafe place."

Dr Bird added: "We now know that for children who are not active, it actually shapes the brain for the rest of their life.

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"The worry now is we have children who are becoming anxious. An inactive child will have a larger amygdala which does the fear part and a smaller hippocampus which is the path of reason and regulates adrenaline and all the stress.

"If you've got a child that's indoors all the time, they will become an adult who will become anxious, more worried and more afraid of things. Their intelligence changes as well. Research shows children who are inactive were less intelligent.

"Sport helps them train be able to cope with loss, defeat, gives them the discipline. It gives them so many factors as they grow up and it gives them hope."