Get Moving

Active Healthy Kids Canada, a research group formed to promote physical fitness, gave the federal government a C last year for their promotion of physical fitness and this year the feds dropped to a F after slicing their efforts in half since 1986.

The report also suggested that some Canadian youth spend up to six hours a day playing on computers (outside of doing homework), watching television and playing video games. Only 12% of children and youth in the country are getting the recommended amount of daily physical activity of at least two hours a day for children 1-5, and 90 minutes a day for children older than 5. We're not talking sprinting around a soccer field or busting out laps in swim class either, the hours of exercise that these kids need can be easily accumulated through play, games, recreational activities and active transportation (riding a bike or walking).

The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth found that 36% of children between two and three, and 44% between four and five, regularly engage in unorganized sport and physical activity each week.

Brutal.

Physical activity is a huge part of my lifestyle now because I have seen the toll that a sedentary life can take on a body. Sadly though, children and youth don't see that. It's up to the parents to encourage play and activity. When I was a kid I was in enrolled in karate classes twice a week and figure skating and swimming lessons once a week. Outside of that I played outside with neighbourhood kids and went for bike rides with my family. When it was nice outside and I was watching TV it would get turned off and I would be shooed outside by my Mom.

I remember the summer that my Dad killed off our entire back lawn because it had "lumps." My sister and I helped him carry and dump dirt, distribute seeds and push a giant roller filled with water around the lawn to level it out. It was not fun and we did not enjoy it.. but we did it and not only did my Dad get his nice level lawn, Jess and I also got exercise.

My worry is that if kids aren't learning the benefits of physical activity when they're young, they won't adopt them when they're older because at that point they have less energy, more to do and they just plain don't know what they're missing out on.

View the report card here.