An F for Physical Activity?

It’s here! “What?” you ask.

The Saskatchewan Supplement to the 2009 Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth (long name much – lol. I’m out of breath just typing it.).  Here’s the scoop. You can download a copy of the Supplement @ http://saskatchewaninmotion.ca/whats_new/?a=85

On the cover you’ll find one of the most shocking pieces of information. The supplement states:

“Only 15% of 5-19 year olds in Saskatchewan are meeting the physical activity guidelines.”

If you think about it, that means only 4 kids in a class of 25 are getting enough physical activity every day. Are you OK with that?

We’re doing slightly better than the national average of 13% but we still get a big old F. I didn’t always get stellar marks in school, but this is one F that I am not cool with! I know that I could do better and I think we all could. One of the reasons I thought doing this blog would be a sweet opportunity is because I am excited about the chance to learn from other people, hear their suggestions on keeping motivated and discuss really fun ways to be active.

I hope you’ll give the supplement a quick read. It won’t take much, and it’s worth it to understand where we sit (literally) as a province compared to the rest of Canada.  Although we’re making progress in some of the evaluated areas, we’re a long way from our physical activity goals.  The Supplement shows that improvements on the national average have been made, which means no one can say our ultimate goals are impossible. Which reminds me: here at Saskatchewan  in motion’s provincial office, base camp for ramping up the activity in the province if you will,  we believe together we can make ours the most physically active province in the country.

Now that we have the research and numbers, one of the simplest ways you can begin to affect change is to spread the word. I love to talk – a lot! It always feels awesome when you have something really important to say with credible info to make people listen. But take it a step farther, once you’ve made the people in your life aware of the situation, take responsibility for making change. Make it known what you need to be active at home, at school and in your community!

I always remind myself that being active doesn’t mean I have to play competitively in a league, there are days when doing 45 minutes of yoga is just what I need. Like everyone, I’ve been known to get frustrated from time to time. The best way to deal with that for me (don’t laugh): Tae Bo! Haha. Even better than Billy Blanks, bundle up and hit the toboggan hill with some buds for a night of goofy pics and tons of laughs! After all you’re never too old to play are you?

So what can we do to raise Saskatchewan’s grade? Hmm…. My advice is to start small and grow from there! One thing I’ve done is take the stairs whenever I have the choice between the stairs and an elevator. Where are you going to start?

Later             

 Kenji