WE ALL NEED TO GET MOVING Sources Dr. Mark Tremblay – Childhood Physical Activity: Important initiatives, insights and issues Heart and Stroke Foundation: International Conference on Physical Activity and Obesity in Children Caitlin Mason, Presenter

“for the ordinary Canadian child … physical fitness … seems to be a decreasing function of age from the time we put him behind a desk in our schools.” Bailey, 1974

Some Statistics From 1979 to 2009, the obesity rate tripled from 3%-9% 28% of Ontario’s children are either overweight or obese-3 decades ago, it was 12% Using BMI as an indicator, 60% of Canadian adults are overweight or obese 91% of children are not meeting the guidelines which recommend 90 minutes of moderate-vigorous activity (16 500 steps)

A Cause for Concern... 63% of youngsters not active enough for optimal growth and development A decline in activity with age and gender Girls are less involved in intense physical activity Physical Activity Monitor CFLRI, 1999

40% of Canadian children have one major risk factor for CVD: a sedentary lifestyle

“Unless effective interventions to reduce obesity are developed, the steady rise in life expectancy observed in the modern era may soon come to an end and the youth of today may live shorter lives than their parents.” N Engl J Med 2005 Mar;352(11):1138-1145

Some statistics Even though we, as a society are eating less, we are getting fatter. There is a disconnect here. Why? We have poorer eating habits Our physical activity is decreasing and our rates of diabetes and high blood pressure is increasing

A New Evolutionary Development ? Our genes have not changed in the last generation but our society has

“For the majority in our society, a sedentary lifestyle and increasing obesity constitute a major health risk…and will be the source of an almost incalculable burden on our health and social systems in the future.”

"Can Johnny come out and eat?"

The Data There are discrepancies in the reporting of physical activity There are discrepancies in the reporting of obesity and being overweight (written-phone interview-personal interview with weigh scale- actual body measurements) The data can be taken and manipulated to “make it work”

Some Initiatives Children’s Fitness Tax Credit (up to $500.00 per child) PARTICIPACTION is back www.participaction.com A government report entitled “Healthy Weight for Healthy Kids” has gone to the Standing Committee of Health

Annual Report on Public Schools-2009 Healthy Schools By the time a student graduates from secondary school, they will have watched 15000 hours of television and participated in 500 hours of physical education 41% of elementary schools have a ft/pt physical education teacher (Only schools that are above the Ontario average size will have a ft physical education teacher The overall number of minutes of physical education has dropped by 6%- Average number of minutes per week is 106. When the regular classroom teacher teaches physical education, the number of classes decreases. This often occurs due to lack of expertise and a fear of the gymnasium Regular physical education is essential for healthy growth and development. Benefits include lower anxiety/depression and maintaining a healthy body weight.

Annual Report on Public Schools-2009 Healthy Schools We need to remember that physical education classes follow the proscribed curriculum in each grade. Physical activity is one piece of a complete, quality health and physical education program that all children need. Daily Physical Activity (DPA) was designed to add 20 minutes of activity per day for students in elementary school. It was not meant to replace the regular physical education class. DPA still poses a challenge for teachers – WHY? WE NEED TO INSPECT RATHER THAN EXPECT!!

Some Studies 1951 – France The school day was divided into the following: 2/3 class time 1/3 physical education No homework This same study was replicated with slight permutations in Alberta and the findings were the same: THIS TYPE OF SCHOOL DAY MAXIMIZES LEARNING. This does not mean that physical activity does not make the students smarter but it make them less agitated, less stressed and in a better condition to learn

Some Studies The Amish have no physical education, no institutionalized sport and often have a lower SES. Yet, 1% are obese and 7% are overweight, compared to 25% of North American children Many Scandinavian countries have lower rates as well. Often, the reason is ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION.

91% of Canadian children have bicycles… Active Transportation 91% of Canadian children have bicycles… 5% ride them to school !

Active commuting to school Distance to school is inversely associated with physical activity. JPAH 2006;3(Suppl 1):S129-S138

European Charter on Counteracting Obesity November 2006: health ministers from 53 countries approved world’s first charter to fight obesity

European Charter on Counteracting Obesity Encourage children to walk to school Establish priority bicycle routes

European Charter on Counteracting Obesity Improve availability & affordability of healthy foods Limit marketing of fatty, sugary foods to children Reduce fat, sugar & salt in manufactured products

European Charter on Counteracting Obesity Promote cycling & walking by better urban design & transport policies

European Charter on Counteracting Obesity “The vision is to shape societies where healthy lifestyles related to diet and physical activity are the norm . . . where healthy choices are made easy for individuals.”

Urban Planning

The Fate of the Commuter A commuter who spends 2 hours each day commuting…will spend the equivalent of 11, 40 - hour weeks sitting in their car each year!

The “engineering out” of physical activity

“The health consensus that dominated thinking about urban development for decades – namely that low-density suburban development is an inherently healthy way to build communities – is showing signs of unraveling.”

A Leadership Role for Teachers

Teachers have played a central role in providing Physical Activity for youth. What about you??

WHAT CAN WE DO? Think about physical activity over the whole day rather than sport/exercise/recreation Reduce auto dependency Reduce financial dependency Reduce reward dependency Reduce nature deficit disorder Reduce screen time

What Can We Do? One final thought: “ Encourage people to add a touch of Amish and a dash of inconvenience to their lifestyle” (Dr. Mark Tremblay, 2007).