Partici-parents

Amid the buzz last week about the failure of Canadian kids to get enough physical activity, many news reports forgot to mention that if children are failing, so are their parents.

The recent headlines concern research released by charitable group Active Healthy Kids Canada. According to its 2010 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, nearly 90 per cent of children in this country do not get the recommended 90 minutes of daily exercise they need to stay healthy.

Put another way, only 12 per cent of Canadian kids get enough of the jumping, skipping and running around that are supposed to be part of their daily lives.

The finding may be disappointing. But it's hardly surprising when you consider that many of our kids are getting fatter and fatter thanks to video games, the Internet, Pizza Pops and carpools.

Overweight and obese kids are more than cute, pudgy caricatures who favour Pop Tarts.

With this excess weight comes a hurricane of life-threatening ailments: High blood pressure, high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes (a disease that used to be called adult-onset diabetes but can no longer be considered an adult-only illness). Currently, there are 175 children in Manitoba with Type 2 diabetes, says Winnipeg pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Heather Dean.

Type 2 diabetes can lead to vascular complications that include vision loss, limb amputation and heart disease.

Those complications are the cruellest, most extreme consequences of the inactivity highlighted in the Active Healthy Kids Canada report card. But they strike every day.

Parents need to take note of this harsh reality.

And they need to realize they can help fix the problem, says University of Manitoba researcher and exercise scientist, Jon McGavock.

"People are working silos right now. They are putting all the responsibilities on schools or communities and not linking the different areas together," says the assistant professor who studies youth at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.

He notes that kids are impressionable, particularly the younger ones. "They follow the lead of their parents. So parents need to be active role models."

Looking for some inspiration? Not sure how to be a physical activity example for your kids? Borrow some ideas from four local health experts who also happen to be parents.

Here's a glance at how they keep their own kids active and healthy:

WHO: Peter Jones, director of the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals. Father to five children, ages 10 to 24

TIP: Cancel cable TV in summer

Step into Peter Jones' River Heights home and it may be impossible to spot the brood who lives there.

"I have a hugely active group of kids. They are always crawling the walls. They love being outside. In the middle of winter, they are goofing around on the street taking cross-country skis out," says Jones, clearly proud of his five children, two of whom are university students who reside at home part time. "In the summer, they just love living outside."

The food chemist and his wife, physician Dr. Julie Jones, do something unconventional to help keep their family active: They cancel their cable television for several months at a time -- from roughly May 1 to Nov. 1. "We keep our kids from all the junk on TV. There is so much bad content. And it forces them to go out and find something else to do."

WHO: Dean Kriellaars, University of Manitoba exercise scientist and assistant professor. Father to two teenagers

TIP: Take active vacations

For Dean Kriellaars, going on a trip isn't an excuse to lounge around all day.

"We take active vacations. (That means) snowboarding at 9 o'clock until 4 o'clock. Then we sleep and do it all over again," says Kriellaars, describing a recent jaunt to a ski resort with his son Nic, 19, and daughter Ali, 17. "That kind of teaches you don't have to be sitting around to get away from it all."

Kriellaars, known for his outspoken passion for healthy living, admits that keeping his kids active is more difficult now that they have grown up. But he says his own love for exercise has influenced them.

WHO: Beth Martens, Winnipeg yoga instructor and singer/songwriter. Mother to a three-year-old son.

TIP: Instigate play

Beth Martens knows when she's been working in front of her home computer for too long.

Usually that's when her son, Liam, 3, gets antsy. At that point, the toddler may even turn on the television.

That's when Martens knows she needs to do something drastic to change the mood. "I'll literally jump up and we'll just chase each other across the house and do laps around the balcony," says the ultra-fit yoga expert.

She says that toddlers naturally run around and play -- when they're with other kids.

But when they aren't, parents need to make a concerted effort to incorporate playtime into the day.

The pair live in an upstairs suite of a St. Boniface house. Even though their space is limited, they always find room for tag, musical chairs and yoga.

"It's up to me to introduce something more active, more physical into the process."

WHO: Gina Sunderland, Winnipeg registered dietitian and mother to two sons, ages 10 and 12.

TIP: Take daily family walks after dinner

Since their kids were little, Gina Sunderland and her husband, Paul, have practised the same ritual: A walk around the neighbourhood after supper.

Now, Sunderland's son, Joel, 10, is the first to lead his family outside after the meal.

"It's funny. He always says, 'OK. We're going for a walk after supper.' It's just part of his life," says the dietitian.

Joel explains what his life would be like without outdoor walks and playtime: "It would probably be boring," says the St. Vital student.

Sunderland says her family members always find new and fun things to do. They're enthusiastic about fitness, she says, because she is active herself.

Sunderland says she pays for fitness classes in advance and goes to them three times weekly.

Sometimes sons Joel and Reid, 12, ask her not to go because they want help with homework or piano.

When she explains to her kids why she needs to leave the house for an hour, they understand and end up encouraging her to go.

"I say, 'Do you want mum to be sick and old or do you want mum to stay healthy?' Hands down guaranteed -- kids want their parents to be healthy," says Sunderland. "I go to my class. I come home. I feel better. And I'm sure I'm a better mom for it."

-- -- --

Doug Speirs, Charlene Adam and Tracy Mainland need your encouragement, photos and advice while they get fit. (See page D5). Go to www.winnipegfreepress.com/springtraining and submit your tip and you could win a GoodLife Fitness Gym membership.

Have an interesting story idea you'd like Shamona to write about? Contact her at shamona.harnett@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 3, 2010 D1