Schools should focus on including as many children as possible, and not just 'elite athletes' in their sporting activities, a new report on childhood obesity has recommended.

The report also says school sports and physical activity should be made a compulsory part of the school curriculum, and that awards for physical activity achievement could be translated into Leaving Cert points

The report points out that many large secondary schools are often focused on only one type of sport (for example hurling or rugby) and only an 'elite' of perhaps 20 students will make the panel for the team for that age category.

'This being the case, what happens to the other 180 children who are rejected by the elitist and competitive nature of the performance-centered system," the report asks.

The report, from the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, says the simple answer is these children are left behind and can be robbed of the opportunity to take part in schools-based physical exercise.

It points out that not every child can excel at commonly-played sports such as rugby, football or basketball, and there should be a greater effort put into introducing new sports like badminton, squash, handball, indoor climbing and gymnastics.

The report says the emphasis should be on participation rather than competition and the above sports can stimulate physical activity, increase social activity and introduce children to team work, comradeship and dealing with the successes and disappointments of competition.

It says the emphasis should be on broadening the base of student participation in sport, and not just the cultivation of 'elite athletes'.

Furthermore, the report adds, highly competitive sports programmes may not be reinforcing positive health aspects of sports participation.

According to the Oireachtas Committee, it may not be possible for a school to obtain the services of a coach for alternative sports on a full-time basis, so they could engage the services of private contractors on a once or twice-weekly basis during school hours, as schools currently do with music teachers.

Its report says studies show that concentration levels and exam results can improve when daily physical exercise becomes part of the school curriculum.

The report notes disquieting trends among teenage children in Ireland, such as increased 'screen time', video game playing that 'borders on the obsessive' and less reliance on physically active transport.

These trends, it says, indicate that schools should assume a leadership role in ensuring that young people engage in adequate amounts of physical activity each day.

The report calls for sport and physical activity to be a compulsory part of the curriculum and says merits should be awarded every year of secondary school for 'application and enthusiasm, teamwork and morale-building, courage and good sportsmanship'.

These merits could translate into addiitonal Leaving Cert points, it suggests.

The report also recommends that :

* Nutrition should be taught in schools as a life skill.

* Parks and football pitches should not be put out of access by insurance red-tape due to our 'compensation culture'.

* Alternatives should be provided to fast-food outlets for parents seeking family meals after 6pm. Delicatessen and healthy sandwich bars should be encouraged to remain open until at least 8pm.

* A 'Food Ombudsman' should be appointed to regulate misleading food labelling.

* Consumers should have better access to high quality fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables.

* The processed food and drink industries should embrace the challenge of change and become more flexible and adaptive 'to meet the needs of a better informed, more selective and nutritionally-focused society'.

The full report can be viewed here