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News: Are we making our children fat?

It wasn't that long ago that if a child complained of boredom, they were shooed outside to play in the great outdoors. Exploring the backyard, riding a bike, playing street hockey with friends—nothing cured boredom like a little exercise, right? But somewhere along the way, things changed. And now, our kids are physical-activity failures.

In their sixth annual Report Card on Physicial Activity for Children and Youth—released this week—Active Healthy Kids Canada has given Canadian children an F when it comes to their physical activity levels. This is the fourth year in a row that a failing grade has been assigned.

According to the report, less than half of Canadian kids under the age of five are getting regular physical activity as part of their daily lives. And national data shows that 15.3 percent of children aged two to five are overweight, while 6.3 percent are obese. Researchers say that this doesn't bode well for their future.

"It's estimated that overweight two- to five-year-olds are four times as likely to become overweight as adults," said Dr. Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer for Active Healthy Kids Canada, in a news release.

At a time when more parents are working outside the home, money is tight and time is limited, it can seem much easier to let kids surf the web and watch TV than force them outside to get the recommended 90 minutes of daily activity. And let's face it—sending your kids outside to play unsupervised doesn't feel as safe as it did once upon a time. But with only 27 percent of parents reporting that they're aware of Canada's physical activity guidelines, it's clear that something needs to change, for the sake of kids' current and future health.

“As parents, we have the power to influence the long-term health of our kids through physical activity,” said Kelly Murumets, President and CEO of ParticipACTION, in a news release. “We can put our children and youth on the path to active lives by encouraging household habits that limit screen time, include outdoor play and build family time around moving more.”

This year, the federal government also received a failing grade for their investment—or lack thereof—in physical education programs. In fact, federal spending is half the amount now that it was in 1986. So it looks like parents aren't the only ones who need to step up their game.

How do you make physical activity a priority for your family? What are the biggest challenges that you face in keeping your family physically active?

Posted by onTuesday, April 27th, 2010 - 11:00am

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3 Comments

Example, example, example! "Do as I do". Just like anything else in parenting, you HAVE to set the example. If you show a consistent lack of interest, in healthy eating, and physical activity, your child will, of course, develop the same attitude.
Busy, we may be, but, parents, must recognize that, not setting a good example, in physical activity, is paramount to a death sentence for their child.
I have always been physically active, and made sure that my children were part of daily walks, (see who, can walk the fastest), taught, both my children how to, skip, and skipped with them, (I am referring to, "skipping" with a skipping rope). I mention this, because, non of my daughters friends, owned skipping ropes, or, knew how to skip), an activity, integral to my childhood. Walk places, don't always drive, and get those kids outside, instead of letting their little brains dry up from too much TV, etc.
Exercise, is an essential part of any child's, physical, and mental development!

Submitted by Sarah Jane Jennings on Wed, 2011-10-05 4:04pm.

I agree, with our busy lives and the technology boom, it certainly is difficult to keep our children active. I also believe that parents do have a major influence on getting their children active.

When our kids were young, we tried to equip our backyard with fun things like a sandbox, play gym, balls, water buckets and anything else that would encourage fun and unstructured play. Young children really enjoy free play time.

As our children grew, we would ask them to go for a bike ride, or for a walk. We would go to different places so that they felt like they were exploring new territory. When they wanted a break, we let them have one, so that they wouldn't feel like it was a workout, but rather an enjoyable time out.

I often challenge my teenage son to contests like "who can do the most sit-ups in a week." I noticed that kids like contests.

The main thing for parents to realize is that our children watch every move we make. It's up to us to set the example. It's also important to be active with our children, even if it's for 10 or 15 minutes each day.

Submitted by Lisa Raffoul on Wed, 2010-05-05 7:36am.

The problem is the same down here in the US. There are so many easy/fun things for kids to do these days that making time to get outside and exercise isn't high on their priority list. We've already told our kids that they WILL find something active to do this summer when school is out. Our daughter just started tennis lessons today, which is cool. Our son is still thinking. I recently lost 26 pounds myself -- http://www.mattmcgee.com/how-i-lost-26-pounds/ -- so I'm trying to set a good example, too.

Submitted by Matt McGee on Wed, 2010-04-28 1:37am.