· Over half of Canadian children and youth aged five to 17 are not active
enough for optimal growth and development.
· Canadian girls are less active than boys, with only 38 percent of girls
and 48 percent of boys considered active enough.
· Over one-third of Canadian children aged 2 to 11 were overweight in
1998/99, and of these, about half could be considered obese.
· Obese children tend to have an increased risk of becoming overweight
in adulthood and with higher morbidity and mortality rates in adulthood.
· Paediatricians are seeing a rise in the incidence of type 2 diabetes,
hypertension and diabetes in severely overweight children.
Taken from Health Canada Studies
For many of you, these statistics may seem a bit shocking. There are many contributing factors to these findings. Examples are:
· Eating too much fast food
· Not eating a nutritiously sound diet
· Watching too much television
· Spending too much time on the internet
· No outlets for physical activity
· Lack of time
· Lack of interest
What can you do to help your children become more active?
· Prepare nutritious meals
· Limit television and computer time
· Ask them what activities interest them and see what is available (never
force children to partake in an activity that they are not interested in).
· Have a "family fit day" once a week
· Look for playgrounds, arenas, and sport centres that offer children
activities
· Make it fun. Remember. Nagging and lectures aren't effective.
Good Luck!