Life & Style

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Canadian kids twice as likely to be inactive than adults

By: Tom Spears

Posted: 07/23/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

OTTAWA -- Canadian adults have a so-so record of physical activity, says a global couch potato survey. But it's our kids who urgently need to ditch their iPhones and run somewhere.

Younger teens in this country are two to three times as inactive as adults, says a survey by The Lancet, one of the world's most influential medical journals.

It finds our level of physical activity ranks high among western nations -- better than in the U.S., and better than those pesky Swedes who were supposed to be fitter at age 60 than Canadians at 30.

But it appears to be a myth that healthy, active teenagers are later turning into sedentary adults.

The Lancet says between 70 and 79 per cent of Canadian boys aged 13 to 15 are inactive, and so are 80 to 89 per cent of girls the same age.

(The findings for teens are shown in graph form, with increments of 10 percentage points.)

There's less time in school for physical education, and Canadian and U.S. students are increasingly riding to school in a bus or their parents' car, the study says.

"Reductions in physical activity have been recorded . . . in Canadian boys and girls aged 8-16 years from 2001 to 2006," it says.

All stats are based on self-reporting.

In Canada, 33.9 per cent of adults are inactive, it says, against a global figure of 31.1 per cent.

As with most countries, men fare a little better. The study says 32.3 per cent of men and 35.4 per cent of women are inactive.

The difference between teens and adults comes partly from the stricter definition of exercise for teenagers.

The Lancet wants adults to do at least five half-hour periods of moderate activity per week, or three 20-minute bursts of a vigorous workout.

But it says teens aged 13 to 15 should get 60 minutes a day of exercise to build a healthy body.

"The human body has evolved in such a way that most of its systems (skeletal, muscle, metabolic and cardiovascular) do not develop and function in an optimum way" unless they are physically active.

We've known for years about the dangers of inactivity in a world of labour-saving machines. What's new is the ability to measure rates of inactivity globally, and compare countries, regions and age groups.

For instance, that inactivity rate of Canadian adults (33.9 per cent) is better than the rate in the U.S. (40.5 per cent), Sweden (44.2 per cent) or Denmark (35.1 per cent).

It's far better than this year's Olympic hosts in Britain (63.3 per cent inactive).

The 105 countries range from 4.7 per cent in Bangladesh to 71.9 per cent in Malta.

More walking and cycling to work would help, The Lancet suggests. It says only six per cent of Canadians walk to work and fewer than two per cent cycle.

It does see some good news: the length of time adults spend in sports and other physical activity is growing, at least in richer countries.

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 23, 2012 D1

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Life & Style

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.