Nearly 200 students from Lightning Reef, St Peter’s and Holy Rosary primary schools spent two hours rotating through a series of activities aimed at giving them the opportunity to move while improving social and personal skills.

The day was run by national health promotion charity Bluearth, which is working towards reducing the burden of disease and improving health by increasing levels of physical activity and movement with its Move More, Sit Less campaign.

A sedentary lifestyle puts health at risk and can reduce life expectancy, yet two-thirds of Australian children do not meet daily physical activity guidelines.

Over time, sitting for more than 6 hours a day reduces life expectancy by 40 per cent for women and 20 per cent for men.

Australian adults sit an average of 8.8 hours per day, and children sit for an average of 7.5 hours per day.