Compulsory exercised for preschoolers

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NSW preschoolers will be put through compulsory exercise routines, including star jumps, catching and running, in an effort to tackle childhood obesity.

The state government program will be introduced in 1000 preschools within the next 18 months, and will target kids a young as three-years-old.

The Munch n' Move program will include star jumps, singing songs, catching, jumping and running, News Limited newspapers report.

NSW health minister Reba Meagher said Munch n' Move had been devised to tackle spiralling rates of childhood obesity.

"There is clear evidence that the number of people who are overweight or obese is increasing," she said. "By the time NSW children reach kindergarten nearly 18 per cent of them are either overweight or obese."

NSW Health's Liz Develin said once the program had been rolled out in preschools, long-daycare centres would be next.

Tackling the problem at such a young age was important, Ms Develin said, as many bad habits were formed early on in a child's life.

"A lot of three- to five-year-olds have started these bad habits early," said Ms Develin, a director for health advancement.

"If children are well-equipped in fundamental movement skills, they are more likely to participate in physical activity and sport later; they'll have the basic skills of how to run, throw and jump rather than just running around erratically."