Schools and parents should be aware of the importance of children being involved in sport and encourage them to participate in physical activities, said Tian Ye, director general of the China Institute of Sports Science.

Tian made the remarks in one of the last three keynote speeches at the FISU Conference, which concluded yesterday,August 16th, at Shenzhen University.

The FISU academic forum attracted about 350 scholars and officials involved in sport from 42 countries and regions, who exchanged ideas on university sport in the past four days.

"To participate in sport is one of the most effective ways of improving physical fitness. However, there are factors hampering young people from playing sport in China,"said Tian, who spoke on "Physical activity participation for the youth of China."

"In China, young people are overburdened with school work, which leaves them little spare time for exercise.Even if young people have some spare time, they would rather spend it watching television, browsing the Internet and playing video games than do exercise," said Tian.

There were also not enough sports facilities to meet the needs of young people, he said.

"We should cultivate an enabling atmosphere in society, raising young people's interest in sport, and encouraging them to participate, to guarantee they get at least one hour of exercise each day," said Tian.

When planning cities and communities, the government should fully accommodate the need for sports facilities, and provide basic facilities.

"We should make use of both public and school sports facilities and encourage the construction of sports facilities in rural areas."

Tian's emphasis on the importance of sport for youth was echoed by Oleg Matytsin, a FISU assessor and president of the Russian Sports and Tourism University.

"Physical training means not only physical perfection and improvement, but also the education of social, labor and creative activity of youth who, in turn, influence the development of the social structure of a society," he said.