All About Potatoes - Couch Potatoes That Is!
Couch potatoes will pay price
PUBLICATION: The Windsor Star
DATE: 2005.10.13
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Body &Health
PAGE: B3 / Front
BYLINE: Irene Seiberling
SOURCE: CanWest News Service
DATELINE: REGINA
ILLUSTRATION: Colour Photo: Pat Lee
WORD COUNT: 527
REGINA − When it comes to keeping physically active, Canada is dropping the ball. Despite evidence that regular physical activity is critical to personal health and quality of life, the majority of us remain inactive, points out Pat Lee, active living co−ordinator with the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region.
Young and old alike appear to have been bitten by the inactivity bug.
"We are making some inroads with children and adults, but youth are escaping us," Lee said. "Youth have been getting less active."
Health Canada recommends children and youth get 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity daily, with some vigorous activity included, such as running and jumping. "Most kids don't come anywhere near that," Lee pointed out.
Approximately half of teens are not vigorously active on a regular basis, she said. "It's most disconcerting that our youth are so inactive," Lee said.
Our 'improved' lifestyle seems to be to blame. "There are so many ways for kids to amuse themselves that don't involve physical activity," Lee said, pointing out that their daily physical activity has declined as the amount of time they spend sitting in front of televisions and computers has increased.
Only half of Canada's kids are active enough each day for basic healthy development, according to Active Healthy Kids Canada, a group dedicated to advocating the importance of physical activity for children and youth. In other words, only half of our kids are expending the energy required to maintain a healthy weight, and to develop healthy hearts, lungs, muscles and bones.
Unstructured and "day−to−day living" activities −− shown to have the most health benefits −− have been in a steady decline, Lee said. The solution? Canada's kids need to move more and sit less.The prevalence of overwieght and obesity in young Canadians appears to be on the rise, Lee said, warning
that this spells trouble down the road. "With obesity levels climbing, they are going to get the chronic diseases earlier −− diabetes, heart disease," she explained. "We are going to have people get chronically ill during their child−rearing years and working years." "We can prevent a whole bunch of diseases by increasing our physical activity," Lee said, pointing out that
even moderate levels of physical activity can achieve health benefits.
"You can cut the risk of dying of heart disease by 40 to 50 per cent if you are physically active," Lee said. "And the risk of diabetes is reduced."
There's also a decreased risk of some cancers −− bowel and colon, she pointed out, adding that physical activity can also reduce depression and anxiety. It's never too late to integrate physical activity into your life, Lee emphasized. "The more active you are, the more benefit you receive," she said.
A provincial baseline survey conducted in the spring of 2003 found that more than half of adults and 68 per cent of youth aged 13 to 19 are insufficiently active for optimal health benefits, according to federal guidelines. The survey also found women in Saskatchewan are more likely to be physically inactive (59 per cent) than men (44 per cent). And among the province's youth, females aged 13 to 19 are also more physically inactive (83 per cent)compared with young males (57 per cent). Canada's Guide to Healthy Active Living recommends Canadians get a minimum of 30 minutes of physical
activity a minimum of five days a week.
"You can do anything that makes your heart rate increase a little, like a brisk walk, raking leaves, or washing walls," Lee said. "You can be active without a facility. It doesn't need to be expensive or a structured activity,she said. "It's just a matter of getting people of all ages moving.
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