Prince Edward Island is the first and only province to surpass its 2015 Physical Activity Targets for Adults, says Health and Wellness Minister Carolyn Bertram.
This week the Ministers of Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation met in Halifax. Adult physical activity targets were one of their key agenda items.
“We have been working collectively to increase physical activity in all age categories and this week I was pleased to report to my colleagues from across the country that Prince Edward Island has surpassed our physical activity target for adults,” said Minister Bertram. “Our goal was to reach 48% active adults by 2015. In 2005 it was reported that only 40% of Island adults were reaching the recommend daily physical activity level. In 2009 we increased that by 10 percentage points and now we have 50% of our adult population reaching that 30 minute a day mark.”
Prince Edward Island is now ranked fifth in the country for physical activity prevalence in adults. This is a significant achievement, considering that in 2005 Prince Edward Island ranked lowest in the country.
The Ministers of Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation identified a further need to enhance promotion for physical activity during the after-school time period, as well as the renewal of the Canadian Sport Policy and the adoption of a renewed canadian policy against doping in sport to ensure more consistency internationally.
“Prince Edward Island has seen tremendous progress over the past few years in the areas of sport, physical activity and recreation,” said Minister Bertram. “I am proud of our successes, including the ever-growing go!PEI initiative and our Living a Healthy Life Program.
We will continue to support our sport bilateral programs and increase capacity with our provincial sport organizations.”
The Ministers of Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation meet regularly. Their next meeting is scheduled for May 2012.