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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Think you know how active your kid is? Think again: study
OTTAWA -- Canadian parents think their children are far more active than they actually are, according to a new report.
Statistics Canada released details of a study that found parents reported, on average, about 105 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity for their children age six to 11, while direct measurements using a movement detecting device called an accelerometer showed it was actually 63 minutes.
The figures were based on data taken between 2007 and 2009, and 878 children were included in this analysis.
Some might interpret these results as measuring up well against recommendations from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, which says children between the ages of five and 11 should get at least 60 minutes of activity daily.
However, Rachel Colley, a research analyst at Statistics Canada who helped author the report, said it must be remembered these are averages and many children are falling below the guidelines.
She noted an earlier analysis of the same data, released last year, found just seven per cent of children and youths age six to 19 were getting the recommended 60 minutes of activity a day at least six days per week.
"A lot of kids are coming quite close, but very few are actually meeting the guideline, as it is defined," Colley said.
This latest Statistics Canada report said it was "not unexpected" to see a wide gap between the amount of activity parents report their children getting and the amount they actually do.
For example, it noted how a parent might record participation in a 60-minute soccer game as a full hour of activity, but in actuality, the child would likely be taking breaks in the action, and the accelerometer would pick this up.
"This example highlights a fundamental difference between the methods; parent reports capture time spent doing a specific activity, while accelerometry captures actual movement at a defined intensity," the report said.
Colley said the discrepancy between how much activity children get and what their parents think they get could contribute to unhealthy conditions among children. In this study, 23 per cent were found to be either overweight or obese.
Statistics Canada said the Canadian Health Measures Survey is representative of 96.3 per cent of the population, but does not include people living on reserves, government-owned land, institutions, certain remote regions or full-time members of the Canadian Forces.
-- Postmedia News
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 19, 2012 A10
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