A new report card has given Canadian children a grade of D for spending too much time in front of screens and failing to meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity.
The report, released Tuesday by Active Healthy Kids Canada, said that 90 per cent of Canadian kids are not getting enough exercise. The culprit? They are spending too much time in front of television, movie and computer screens.
The report gives an F grade for the amount of time kids spend in front of a screen. Children between the ages of 10 and 16 spend about six hours a day in front of a screen. That is three times longer than the recommended daily screen time of two hours or less.
was a joint effort by Active Healthy Kids Canada, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute - Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group and ParticipACTION.
"The results of the Report Card are very disturbing," Dr. Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer of Active Healthy Kids Canada, said in a statement.
"This trend of extreme inactivity in today's children and youth will have an enormous impact on their development and potentially lead to long-term health issues including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and a range of chronic degenerative conditions."
The fact that kids are spending a lot of time in front of screens comes as little surprise to anyone who has seen a child walk down the street with his or her nose in a personal video-game device.
The report said that television and video game use are rising as participation in organized sports is declining. In 1992, 77 per cent of youths aged 15 to 18 played sports. However, that participation rate dropped to 59 per cent by 2005. These figures warranted a grade of C.
The report gave a D for the number of kids, about 10 per cent, who commute to and from school in an active way, such as walking or biking. The report also showed that while more than 90 per cent of parents have access to parks and playgrounds, only 34 per cent of parents use them. This also resulted in a D grade.
Active Healthy Kids Canada, an advocacy group that lobbies organizations and educates parents on the importance of physical activity in kids, says parents, teachers, community programs and governments need to work together to get kids moving.
The group's recommendations include:
- Parents keeping kids away from television and video games when they can.
- Development of more programs that offer free play time to kids.
- Avoiding exercise that is centred on video games that involve physical activity.
