Indicators

Grades

Quick Stats

Recommendations for Action

Physical Activity Levels

F

• Only 7% of Canadian children and youth are meeting the new Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines of at least 60 minutes of MVPA per day (2007-09 CHMS).

• Fewer than 2% of Canadian children and youth get 90 minutes of MVPA on at least 6 days of the week (2007-09 CHMS).

• Expend social marketing efforts to communicate the importance of regular, lifestyle-embedded physical activity throughout the day and week.

• Healthcare practitioners should be proactive in talking to children and parents about the importance of physical activity for healthy development. 

Organized Sport and Physical Activity Participation

C

• 75% of parents say their children participated in sport in the past year (2010 PAM).

• Though the proportion of Canadian children and youth participating in organized sport appears to be high, gender and income disparities persist on this indicator, which keep it from entering the B range.

• Though children and youth who participate in sport take an extra 1,600 steps per day, physical activity promoters and parents should ask whether there are other ways for kids to get that extra physical activity.

• Work with sport associations and coaches is required to devise ways for kids to be more active when participating

Active Play and Leisure

F

• Only 14% of 6- to 10-year-old boys and 7% of 6- to 10-year-old girls in Canada are getting at least 60 minutes of MVPA on at least 6 days of the week. In combination with the fact that children and youth only get 14 minutes of MVPA during the afterschool period (3 to 6 p.m.), which is one of the most unstructured parts of the day, this suggests that very few children are getting much active play (2007-09 CHMS)

• Parents should restrict television viewing, video and computer games during the after-school period (3 to 6 p.m.).

• Encourage children and youth to play outdoors.

• Social marketing campaigns need to target the promotion of active play at home, child care, school and in the community.

Active Transportation

D

• 24% of parents say their children use only active modes of transportation (e.g., walking, biking) in trips to and from school. By contrast, almost 62% of parents say their children and youth rely on only inactive modes of transportation to get to and from school: 24% by car, 34% by bus or train, and the rest by a combination of motorized transportation modes (2010 PAM).

• Efforts should be expanded to implement Active and Safe Routes to School programs in all communities.

• Parents and school representatives need to explore the possibility of modifying school bus drop-off locations to provide for a “walking school bus” to complete the trek to school for children who require busing.

• Initiatives need to be supported that facilitate active transportation to and from school (e.g., no drop-off zones around schools, safe and visible bike lock facilities on-site at schools