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Issue: 2 / February 2011
Welcome to our latest E-Newsletter from:
www.participACTION.com
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Move More! |
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Message from the President
We have started 2011 off with a bang! The movement to increase physical activity is right out of the blocks this year with two exciting launches. On January 24, Canadians woke up to a brand new set of Physical Activity Guidelines, and on the very same day, ParticipACTION débuted our new marketing campaign.
We are all working hard at getting the word out about the inactivity crisis and inspiring Canadians to move more.
The new Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines, developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, are the culmination of four years of rigorous research. They reflect the best scientific information we have on how much, and the types of physical activity that will deliver measurable health benefits. I am proud that ParticipACTION is playing a strong partnership role with CSEP in getting this critical information out to all Canadians.
Strategically aligned with the latest Guidelines, our new television, print and online campaign is an impactful, simple message - challenging parents to re-evaluate their belief that their children are active enough.
Unfortunately, there is a real disconnect among parents with respect to the reality of our children's inactivity. Most parents believe that their children do get enough physical activity while, in fact, only 7% of Canadian children meet the new recommended guideline of 60 minutes per day.
So through our campaign, we are daring parents to "think again" and take another look at whether or not their children are getting "60 minutes of physical activity a day. Every day."
Together, we can get our children moving more and, together, we can help build the future of a healthy, active nation!
Warmly,
Kelly
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ParticipACTION Updates
Congratulations from ParticipACTION!
Dr. Amy Latimer and Dr. Ryan Rhodes, members of ParticipACTION's Research Advisory Group, have recently been recognized with some exceptional awards. Dr. Latimer was recently awarded a Canada Research Chair (CRC) at Queens University. Dr. Rhodes was the winner of the new Canadian Cancer Society Senior Scientist Award, and has been recognized by the CCS as the their top-ranked scientist for the last 5 years. A big congratulations goes out to these members for their exceptional work in the field.
ParticipACTION's « Think Again »/« Pas si sûr »
On January 24, ParticipACTION launched its new campaign called Think Again. Through a series of five 15-second television commercials, three English and two French, the campaign exposes common misconceptions about children's physical activity levels and reinforces the need for moms to get their children more active, every day.
Print ads showcasing the same theme will begin running in mid-February in parenting and women's magazines, followed by additional materials in June. ParticipACTION blogs, wall posts on Facebook and tweets will help educate Canadian moms on the amount of daily physical activity their children require as well as direct them to www.participACTION.com to access a variety of relevant and useful resources to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle for their children.
To view PartcipACTION's new commercials click here. (Restrictions only permit English commercials to be shown)
Announcing the "Dare2Move ParticipACTION Teen Challenge"
On January 31, ParticipACTION launched its new teen-targeted campaign called the Dare2Move ParticipACTION Teen Challenge. Along with our partners we are challenging teens to help raise awareness among their peers of the inactivity crisis in a creative way.
Teens are being asked to create a message using text, photography or video that encourages their generation to get moving. Entries can be wildly creative - flash mobs, raps, dances, etc. - anything that will inspire teens to understand that there is a physical inactivity crisis in Canada and to care about it.
Submissions must be made between January 31 and March 21, 2011. Dare2Move participants are eligible to win some pretty great prizes.
For more information, or to download the contest info kit or printable poster, click here.
The ParticipACTION Partner Network - Building Strength in Numbers
Since the inception of the ParticipACTION Partner Network (PPN) in late 2009, a variety of not-for-profit and public-sector organizations have joined our ranks. The group shares a similar vision - to motivate and encourage Canadians to lead more active, healthy lives. With over 70 organizational members thus far, and with more and more organizations joining every week, the PPN is building strength in numbers.
The PPN is dedicated to those involved in the physical activity, recreation and sport participation sectors. ParticipACTION's belief is that the PPN will not only help support the work of individual member organizations, but will strengthen the physical activity and sport participation sector in Canada.
Membership in the PPN is free and voluntary, and provides organizations with the following benefits:
- Access to desirable and valuable sector information through Partner Forums and free, easy-to-use communications and resource distribution channels
- Membership to the Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC)
- Access to customizable ParticipACTION Tool Kit materials
For more information on the PPN and how the network can benefit you and your organization, visit the PPN webpage or contact Christa Costas-Bradstreet at ccbradsteet@participACTION.com
The ParticipACTION Tool Kit offers FREE communication and promotional materials
To help inspire and inform Canadians, we've developed the ParticipACTION Tool Kit, which contains free communications materials that organizations can use to promote physical activity and sport participation.
Many of the materials are available to all. And if you are a ParticipACTION Partner Network (PPN) member, you can also access customizable materials.
Feel free to view and download the available materials online at the ParticipACTION Tool Kit webpage. |
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ParticipACTION Tips
Fitting Activity into Your Day
An active day starts with waking up 15 minutes early, so you're not too rushed. You sit down with your kids and have a healthy breakfast - without the TV on - and talk about the day ahead.
Get the jump on your activity by walking or cycling to school with your children, or taking turns to walk the neighbourhood kids as a group. Kids will love the time with you and the fresh air will do everyone good.
After school is the time for your child to participate in an intramural sport, play catch or other activity that is physical.
At dinner, avoid the TV and video games again, eating as a family. Afterwards, take a walk around the block together or go to the park.
A busy, active day with healthy patterns will help your children grow into healthy, active adults.
For more information and tips on fitting activity into your day - as a youth, an adult or an older adult - visit our Benefits of Physical Activity page.
Winter Safety Tips from Safe Kids Canada
Winter Safety Tips relating to a variety of topics, such as winter helmet safety and toy safety, are now available on the Safe Kids Canada website. Please feel free to include these seasonal tips in your own newsletters and websites.
For more information on winter safety, and additional safety tips, visit the Safe Kids Canada website. |
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Physical Activity in the News
Ready, Set, Go. Canada launches new Physical Activity Guidelines.
On January 24th, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) launched new physical activity guidelines for Canadian children, youth, adults, and older adults. After four years of intensive research and review, the Canadian guidelines are now the most rigorously developed in the world.
Changes to the Guidelines
So what's new? Well, for starters, the guidelines now include all school aged children, with separate guidelines for children (5 - 11 years old), and youth (12 - 17 years old). (Previously the age range was 6- 14 years.) And for the first time ever, there are separate guidelines for seniors. The two categories for adults are broken out as adults (18 - 64 years), and older adults (65 years & more).
One of the biggest changes to the guidelines is the recommendation for children and youth to accumulate a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity every day. As part of their 60 daily minutes, kids and teens should be including muscle and bone-building activities three days a week, and make sure that vigorous-intensity activities also happen at least three days a week. With only 7% of Canadian children meeting the new guidelines, we still have lots of room to augment physical activity levels.
What were the guidelines before? In the past, the guidelines recommended a progression of increased physical activity, starting with 30 additional minutes and working up to 90 minutes. We now know that the best available scientific evidence shows that measurable health benefits occur with 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day. But don't stop there. The research also confirms that more is better. The guidelines indicate that health benefits continue to rise with additional physical activity beyond the first 60 minutes.
Adults too now have clear direction on how much, and the type, of physical activity that will render health benefits. The new recommendation is for both adults and older adults to participate in a cumulative total of 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Muscle and bone-strengthening activities are recommended 2 days a week, and older adults with poor mobility should also perform balance-enhancing physical activities.
Getting the word out
ParticipACTION is working alongside CSEP to help spread the word on the new Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. Resources are available on both the ParticipACTION and CSEP websites including; one page information sheets that clearly outline the guidelines and give examples of moderate to vigorous-intensity activities and the associated health benefits.
A glossary of terms is also available online to clarify any related terms, and a background document is provided for NGO stakeholders to answer any questions relating to the development of the new guidelines. For even more detail, all the scientific papers are also available on the CSEP website.
Stepping up
The guidelines are a clear and easy way to gauge our physical activity levels, and they can inspire us to give thought to how we make physical activity an everyday part of a balanced and healthy life. We have the goals in our sightlines, and we will keep working towards making Canada the most physically active nation on the planet.
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| Research Update
The Influence of After-School Programs on Children's Physical Activity Levels
According to the latest data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey, only a startling 7% of Canadian children and youth attain the recommended levels of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day.
Physical inactivity among the young in Canada is a colossal concern. Inactivity is linked to the rise of illnesses in children once the domain of old age such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Shockingly, our current generation of children and youth may be the first to not live as long as their parents. Due to the myriad of alarming health trends, increasing physical activity participation among young people has become huge priority for parents, advocacy groups, researchers and policy-makers.
The majority of interventions aimed at improving children's physical activity have been school-focused, targeting such things as the curriculum, physical education, the school environment, and school policy. Research, however, has shown that these types of interventions have been largely effective at increasing participation during school, but are not as successful in increasing participation during after-school hours. In fact, a recent study shows that in the three hour time period after school, from 3pm to 6pm, the average child spends only 14 minutes, or 8% of that time, engaged in moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity.
Shining the spotlight on increasing children's physical activity in the after-school time period could reap substantial benefits because, along with currently low levels of physical activity, this is the time of day when most leisure-time activity takes place. It is also the period when children are less likely to be supervised, with a majority of Canadian parents both working outside the home.
But what sorts of after-school interventions are effective? A recent review of nine studies suggests that interventions targeting this age group should use single-behaviour interventions - those that do not try to cover a broad spectrum of messages, such as "healthy living" covering physical, mental and nutritional health, for example. Focusing tightly on a single message may be more effective as it is also aligned to the cognitive capacity of children and adolescents.
Additionally, school-based programs may be the preferred setting for after-school interventions due to easy accessibility and because they do not require additional transportation. Although, there is some evidence to support the school setting as a desirable location for increasing physical activity during after-school hours, we need more research on the long-term maintenance of physical activity behaviours, especially among the young.
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Q & A
Q - I made a New Year's resolution to become more active. For the first few weeks, I was able to get in about 60 minutes of activity on most days. I was doing really well! However, slowly I have fallen back into my old ways. How do I get back on track? - Eddie A - First of all, don't give up! Starting, stopping and restarting a physical activity routine is quite common, so don't be discouraged. You may have been a little over ambitious with your New Year's resolution. Try setting more realistic goals, like gradually building up to 60 minutes a day. And remember that activity doesn't have to be done all at once - you may find it easier to fit in 10 - minute bouts of physical activity throughout your day. |
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Professional Development
The XII International Walk21 Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities
Metro Vancouver, Canada
October 3-5 2011
On behalf of the Metropolitan area of Vancouver, we warmly invite you to come to Metro Vancouver this October to join our international conference of thinkers and walkers from around the world. The conference will include a diverse and exciting programme of talking, walking, creating and celebrating. Be part of this active conference to explore current issues related to walking, walking initiatives and the best urban design to walk to and through.
The Call for Proposals will close on February 18, 2011. For any information about the conference, or to submit a proposal, visit the Walk21 website or email vancouver2011@walk21.com.
8-80 Cities
2nd International Study Tour
March 4-6
Guadalajara, Mexico
Join international leaders and expert speakers in workshops and dialogue around creating, innovating and improving Ciclovias/Car Free Sunday programmes while studying one of the world's most successful ciclovias - Guadalajara's Via Recreactiva. This experience will give participants the opportunity to network, develop professional skills sets, understand operational processes, and adapt international best practices; all experienced in the inviting climate and unique culture of Western Mexico.
What is a Study Tour?
8-80 Cities' Study Tours immerse participants in people-friendly design by bringing them to places that have adopted innovative approaches to creating sustainable and healthy cities. Participants explore the cities through guided walks and bike rides complemented by the use of public transit. In addition, each day of the study tour includes educational presentations and workshops by international experts. 8-80 Cities' Study Tours are designed to be inspirational, educational and fun.
Who should attend?
Elected officials, city staff, parks and recreation commissioners, community leaders, academics or individuals who have the political will to help make their city more vibrant and healthier, or anyone interested in organizing a Ciclovía/Car Free program in their community.
For more information on registering for the Study Tours click here.
Best Start Resource Centre
2011 Annual Conference
February 22-24
Toronto, ON
The 2011 Best Start Resource Annual Conference addresses health issues from pre-conception through to childhood and explores sessions relevant to your work and areas of interest. Acquire the latest information, learn innovative strategies and programs, and meet new colleagues.
For more information about the conference including: registration details, the program, speakers, venue, parking, and accommodations, visit the Best Start website.
The National Eating Disorder Information Centre's (NEDIC)
Body Image and Self-Esteem: Shades of Grey bi-annual conference
May 2 - 3
Toronto, ON
Engaging, practical and insightful experts will provide MORE than TEN strategies to improve body-image and self-esteem in thought provoking workshops:
Topics include:
- Mindfulness and emotional development
- Ontario's new Health and Phys Ed curriculum
- Weight -focused bullying
- Male athletes: weight and shape issues
- and so much more.
Take part in discussions that address the important issues:
- Challenges associated with conflicting health messaging about nutrition, physical activity and disordered eating
- The connection between positive body-image, self-concept and increased youth participation and leadership
- Evidence-based strategies for building resilience to body-based problems in boys and girls
Early-bird registration until March 25, 2011. For more information or to register for the conference visit the NEDIC website.
ParticipACTION Forum - Webinar
February 28
National
The ParticipACTION Forums are designed to facilitate knowledge exchange and sharing between organizations. Our last ParticipACTION Forum on Age Friendly Communities, held on October 20, was very successful with about fifty participants. We look forward to more and more participants joining in on these forums as they are scheduled.
The next ParticipACTION Forum will take place on February 28, 2011 from 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm EST. The theme of this forum will be "Physical activity and sport participation: the relationship to preventing, treating and controlling breast cancer." If you would like to sign up to participate in this forum, please email forum@participACTION.com.
If you have an upcoming professional development opportunity that you would like featured, please contact info@participACTION.com. |
| Highlights and Events
Canada Games 2011
February 11-27
National
The Canada Games is a celebration of youth, sport, culture and community. Held every two years, alternating between summer and winter, the Canada Games are a key event in the development of Canada's young athletes. As the best in their age group, these young competitors come to the Games having trained long and hard to be among those chosen to represent their respective province or territory and compete for the +Canada Games Flag and Centennial Cup. By reaching the Games, these young, elite athletes are poised to star as the next generation of our national, international and Olympic champions.
From February 11-27, 2011, thousands of our country's best and brightest will set their sights on Nova Scotia as Halifax hosts the Canada Winter Games.
For more information visit the 2011 Canada Games website.
Walk in Her Shoes
March 2-8
National
In the poorest communities around the world, women and girls are often the ones tasked to collect water, firewood or other basic necessities of life. They walk on average 6 kilometres a day (approximately 8,000 steps) while carrying the equivalent of a suitcase. This leaves little time to attend school, access health services or earn money to support their families.
Yet CARE knows that when women and girls are empowered to tackle these issues, whole families and communities directly benefit. This is why CARE believes the empowerment of women and girls is instrumental in the fight against poverty.
To help break the cycle of poverty and in celebration of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day (March 8, 2011), CARE is challenging Canadians to either:
- Walk 8,000 steps a day from March 2nd, finishing on International Women's Day, March 8th, or
- Build their own Walk in Her Shoes challenge, setting their own step count and timeframe
Taking part is easy, you can register as an individual or as a team and get your group, school or workplace involved in this national challenge.
To find out more and register today, visit the Care Canada website.
Silver Skate Festival 2011
February 18-21
Hawrelak Park, Edmonton
The Silver Skate Festival & Winter Celebration is a free event for all of Edmonton to enjoy. Entering its twenty-first year, the Silver Skate Festival is the longest running winter festival in the City of Edmonton. The festival is rooted in the Dutch tradition of a love of the outdoors and the pleasure of experiencing the cultural and aesthetic beauty of winter, but in recent years the festival has exploded into an extravaganza of art, culture, recreation and sports programming. Over 30,000 festival-goers came out to enjoy the event in HawrelakPark last year.
For more information visit the Silver Skate Festival website.
Active and Safe Routes to School
Winter Walk Day
February 9th
Ontario
Walk to school or at school for daily physical activity, a healthier environment, safer streets, making friends and ... having fun!
Can't walk to school? Hold a Winter Walk Day during school. Walk to the local skating rink for a skate or hold a winter carnival in the school yard at lunch. Register your school now.
For more information, or to register for Winter Walk Day visit the Active and Safe Routes to School website.
Quebec Winter Carnival
Presently- Feb 13
Quebec City, Quebec
The 57th annual Carnival is upon us! In addition to the usual shows and activities, a wide variety of new games will propel you into the joys of winter like never before. Zany, fun, and skillful games - you name it - there will be games for everyone! Let your inner child run wild!
For more information on the Quebec Winter Carnival visit the event website.
Reh-Fit Centre
Healthy Living Awards
Nomination deadline Feb 25
Manitoba
The Healthy Living Awards is an annual event that promotes community health by celebrating organizations and individuals who have made a difference in encouraging healthy, active living across Manitoba. The Awards recognize accomplishments in four categories: individuals, businesses or corporations, organizations (paid staff), and groups (volunteers).
Submitting nominations for the 2011 awards closes on Feb 25. Awards will be presented on April 14 in Winnipeg.
For more information, or to submit your nomination, visit the following website. |
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Success Stories
The Mobile Fitness Unit
 The Mobile Fitness Unit (MFU) is a World Health community outreach project for schools. Shane Kups, the director of the MFU, in his truck and trailer filled with bars and weight, visits schools (elementary, junior, and high schools) and teaches an educational fun fitness class for children and teens - better known as "Fitness 101". The class includes the "Super Hero Workout", using the moves of Spiderman, Superman, Batman, and Xmen characters to create the fitness routines, a talk on Core Training as well as a discussion on how the body moves and works.
For the last 3 1/2 Years Shane has been to over 150 schools and has taught 20,000 students. Not only has it been great fun for Shane, bringing his entertaining style of fitness education to children, but also incredibly rewarding knowing that his services do not burden the schools with any additional cost - the program is run free of charge.
According to Shane, "It's World Health's way of giving back to the community by educating children and students on the fun side of fitness."
Story submitted by:
Shane Kups
Director of the Mobile Fitness Unit (MFU)
View other Success Stories or submit your own on the ParticipACTION website. |
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If you would like to submit articles, events/programs or news to our e-newsletter, or for more information on ParticipACTION, please feel free to contact us by email at info@participACTION.com or visit our website at www.participACTION.com |
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