Active Kids Report Card gives Canada an 'F'

It's sad but not unexpected news on the active health front. The 2011 Canadian Health Measures Survey has awarded Canada an 'F' for children's physical activity health levels. The report, which focuses on after-school hours, found that Canadian children get an average of just 14 minutes of physical activity between 3 and 6pm.


The Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card  takes into consideration things such as active play and leisure, organised sport, and 'active transportation' and analysis influences like school, family, community and policies.


Worrying results show that for example, the average Canadian child spends 8.6 hours per day in sedentary activities – 6-7 hours per day of that time is in front of a screen. 73% of parents say that their children are watching TV, reading, and playing video and computer games after school, and only 9% of boys and 4% of girls meet the new Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines.


So if our youth are spending 62% of waking time on sedentary activities, how can we reverse the trend?


The 2011 report offers a number of recommendations. They say that more school-community partnerships are essential to get kids moving after class, and that provincial and territorial governments need to change their policies so that resources and training for physical activity promotion are available and sustained.


They also recommend that parents get their kids to spend time outside in the period between school and dinnertime: kids who are outside during the after-school period take about 2,000 more steps per day than kids who are cocooned indoors - this is roughly equivalent to walking an additional 2km per day! If it's safe, encourage children to bike or walk home, or get them to join an-after school sports team or dance class.

See www.activehealthykids.ca for the full analysis