Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Getting kids active!

So we’ve made the commitment to get ourselves healthy and active in the new year … but what about our kids? The good news is that the number of Canadian children who are active is on the rise; however there is much work still to be done.

ParticipACTION has compiled the latest facts and stats on the state of physical activity and inactivity for children in Canada. With physical activity pegged as a potential solution to the increase in health care spending to treat chronic diseases associated with obesity, we know that helping kids get more active is:

  • Better for their physical health
  • Better for their academic achievement (Article 1)
  • Better for their emotional well-being

There are many resources available to help you in the quest to get your kids more active and SIRC is happy to have compiled a few to get you stared:

  • Kids in Motion Stay in Motion. Includes examples of innovative exercise and weight management programs for children. (Article 2)
  • Outdoor Winter Activities. Listings of a variety of activities that you can do with your kids to up the activity level. Also included are lists of other activities that can be done in warmer weather and with different populations.
  • Winter Olympic Activities for Kids. Athletics, Games and Cold Weather Sports for Children. Adapt your favorite activities to make your own Olympic Games.
  • Backyard Olympics. To beat the February blahs and get moving try a few of these events for your own homegrown Olympics.
  • PlaySport. An educational website developed by PHE Canada and Ophea that has all kinds of great activities designed to teach kids games by playing games

Articles available through SIRC:

  1. Gray, Sarah. 0verweight Students: Can Education Help Curb This Mounting Problem? Physical and Health Education. Summer 2009, 75(2) p.6-11.
  2. Williams, Alexandra. Kids in Motion Stay in Motion. IDEA Fitness Journal. Feb 2008 5(2) p. 38-45.

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