BodyBreak asked about The 2015 ParticipACTION Report Card

BodyBreak asked about The 2015 ParticipACTION Report Card

  • June 10, 2015
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Fitness Report gives Canadian kids D- in Physical Activity

by LUCAS MEYER  Posted Jun 9, 2015 5:24 pm MDT

kids with soccer ball

Keep fit and have fun has been the motto of Canadian fitness for decades, but it seems kids are doing less of the first part.

The 2015 ParticipACTION Report Card, along with a Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play, has given grades of D- to children for both sedentary behaviours and overall physical activity, with only nine per cent of five to 17-year-olds meeting the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines of 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity.

“We have lost the balance between short-term safety and long-term health,” Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Mark Tremblay said in a release.

Along with the finding that kids are failing to meet guidelines for physical activity, the report also puts the blames on parents who are too worried about their kids safety and in turn deterring them from developing active habits.

But Canadian fitness expert and Body Break co-founder Hal Johnson says parents bear more of a brunt when it comes to what foods they give children and how active they are with them.

“It’s appalling seeing what children are eating today,” Johnson said in an interview. “The problem with obesity and children in activity, it’s a slow, slow death, it isn’t like you being hit by a truck.”

“Parents can start to create habits for their children that those children will use these habits for the rest of their lives and that’s critically important.”