Canada's Physical Activity Guides for Children and Youth are designed to help parents and young people learn more about the importance of physical activity in health and overall quality of life. The Prince Edward Island launch for the guides occurred today at Tignish Elementary School with the Honourable Gail A. Shea, Minister responsible for Sport and Recreation; the Honourable Jeffrey E. Lantz, Minister of Education; and the Honourable Jamie Ballem, Minister of Health and Social Services. The Ministers tipped off the launch of the guides in a friendly basketball game with students at Tignish Elementary. Island students in grades one to nine also received copies of the Physical Activity Guide today.
"An active lifestyle is a key factor in overall health and quality of life," says Minister Shea. "These guides provide young people and parents with an additional tool in creating and maintaining active and healthy lifestyles."
Minister Lantz added that schools play an important role in the healthy development of Island children. "By exposing young students to resources such as these guides, we are emphasizing the importance of physical activity and how it affects our overall health and well being. I am very pleased to see these guides distributed in Island schools."
Minister Ballem advised that the guides will also be disseminated to parents, coaches, health professionals and other people who work with children. "The best time to learn healthy living is when we are young," said the minister. "The guides outline fun ways to build physical activity into children's daily routines, and this can create patterns they will keep throughout their lives."
The Ministers helped demonstrate the importance of physical activity, team work and fair play to the learning and development of young people by joining students in a slam dunk event at Tignish Elementary.
There is mounting evidence that suggests that including physical activity in the lives of children contributes significantly to the overall well-being of children and youth and ensures a continuation of active, healthy lifestyles into adulthood.
Canada's Physical Activity Guides for children and youth recommend increasing physical activity by 30 minutes per day with a goal of reaching 90 minutes per day over a five-month period. Reducing non-active time spent watching television and videos and playing computer games is also recommended.
The guides also recommend following Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating to make wise food choices.
The guidelines were developed by Health Canada in partnership with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) and are strongly supported by the Canadian Paediatric Society and the College of Family Physicians of Canada.