Screen time up, playtime down as Canadian kids earn 'F' on activity report card
TORONTO - Too many Canadian kids, including tots under the age of five, are spending too much time glued to TV, computers and video games and it'll take a concerted effort by parents, caregivers and others to get them moving more, say health experts and advocates.
Their concerns were expressed Tuesday following the release of a report showing that most Canadian children aren't meeting recommended physical activity guidelines.
April
27,
2010
-
18:31
Lauren
La
Rose,
THE
CANADIAN
PRESS
In its sixth annual report card on physical activity for children and youth, Active Healthy Kids Canada assigned an "F" for physical activity levels among Canadian children for the fourth consecutive year.
The
report
revealed
that
fewer
than
half
of
preschoolers
are
engaging
in
daily
physical
activity,
and
only
12
per
cent
of
Canadian
children
and
youth
are
getting
the
90
minutes
recommended
for
daily
physical
activity.
Meanwhile,
the
report
found
young
people
are
continuing
to
devote
considerable
time
to
screen
time,
accumulating
on
average
six
hours
per
day
on
weekdays
and
more
than
seven
hours
on
weekend
days.
While international guidelines vary, the report said the consensus is that kids aged one to five should participate in at least two hours of daily physical activity. However, it revealed not only are most preschoolers not getting in regular daily physical activity, the age demographic is spending significant time in front of the tube.
Despite recommendations kids under two have zero screen time, more than 90 per cent of kids begin watching TV before that age. Data from a national survey found 27 per cent of kids aged two to three and 22 per cent aged four to five were watching more than two hours of TV daily.
Steve Manske, professor of health studies and gerontology at the University of Waterloo, said he believes safety concerns and indoor play - where there isn't the space to be as active as kids once where - is a "big part" of why younger kids are more sedentary.
Parents can incorporate activity through moments shared with their children, he suggested. For example, quiet time can be spent on a walk together as opposed to sitting watching a TV show.
"If
you
can
use
those
times
that
you
know
you
want
to
be
bonding
with
the
child
as
times
that
you're
also
incorporating
activity,
I
think
that
can
be
useful
kind
of
modelling,"
said
Manske,
who
is
also
a
senior
scientist
at
the
Propel
Centre
for
Population
Health
Impact.
"We know it's not going to happen overnight, but we know that every little bit at the individual level can contribute towards the overall health of the population," he added. "As we get fit ourselves or more fit, than we're able to have greater capacity to do more and it just feels natural to do the active thing rather than the sedentary thing."
Increasingly sedentary behaviours are replacing what would have been active playtime for young children in the past, leading and contributing to the increase in kids being overweight and obese which is associated with other psychosocial and health problems, said Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer of Active Healthy Kids Canada.
"This
is
very
disturbing
because
it
sets
kids
on
a
trajectory
that
the
evidence
shows
it's
not
one
that
we
would
desire,"
he
said.
"So
young
children
that
are
overweight
or
obese
or
sedentary
or
inactive
tend
to
follow
those
behaviour
patterns
later
on
in
childhood
and
into
adulthood,
certainly
much
more
so
than
kids
that
don't
demonstrate
those
behaviour
patterns
early
on."
National data indicate that 15.2 per cent of two-to-five-year-olds are overweight, and 6.3 per cent are obese.
In addition to limiting screen time, parents need to take a leadership role in promoting activity, said Kelly Murumets, president and CEO of ParticipAction, citing examples like walking kids to school, cycling to the store or parking in the furthest possible spot in the parking lot.
"In families where there are regular healthy habits, those kids end up being more likely to have those healthy habits throughout childhood and adulthood," said Murumets, who said ParticipAction's fall campaign will be focused on children and youth.
Murumets said it will take a joint effort by the public, private and non-profit sectors to combat the problem of childhood inactivity.
"Unless all three sectors first of all acknowledge that we have a crisis in our country and acknowledge that this requires immediate action urgently now and then that we can take that action together... I think that the crisis will perpetuate. This report card this year needs to be an alarm bell for all of us right across the country to say we have a crisis and we need to get active."
"If
they
spend
part
of
their
time
at
home,
part
of
their
time
in
a
preschool,
part
of
their
time
with
a
caregiver,
I
think
the
responsibility
rests
with
each
of
those
touchpoints
to
have
an
active
element
in
the
time
that
is
spent
with
this
child,"
said
McKay,
a
professor
in
the
faculty
of
medicine
at
the
University
of
British
Columbia
and
director
in
the
Centre
of
Hip
Health
and
Mobility
at
Vancouver
Coastal
Health.
McKay
said
she
believes
the
solution
is
looking
at
a
whole
spectrum
of
activities
children
could
be
doing
throughout
the
day
rather
than
just
one
specific
thing,
including
playing
structured
games
as
well
as
other
activities,
like
going
for
walks.
"If you can through combinations of activities find an hour every day when these kids are moving," she said.
(Macleans,
2010)