News from ParticipACTION

Is it really October already? By the 10th month of the year, for some reason, time seems to take off at warp speed. We all seem to get immersed in busy work and school schedules, and with the shorter days and holidays looming somewhere in the not-too-distant future, making sure that you are getting enough physical activity sometimes slips off the top of our to-do lists - even mine!

Ironically, while we are busily trying to achieve in the classroom or in the meeting-room - often skipping that noontime walk or after-school playtime in the park to do so - we may be missing out on one of the most rewarding ways to boost what we can accomplish at work or school.

Take a look at our research file this month that shows how workplace wellness programs can reduce employee absenteeism and increase productivity. And read about recent news that shows how young students have better concentration and memory skills after increases in aerobic physical activity.

Remember, it's all the little things that we can do in our daily lives to get moving more that will make a big difference. So don't miss your lunch-break walk, don't skip the stroll to the corner store, and don't put off the family bike ride. Join me in putting physical activity back at the top of each of our agendas this month.

Warmly,

Kelly

ParticipACTION Updates

Introducing the ParticipACTION YouTube Channel and Revamped Blog

0.5392 Thanks to you - and readers in over 129 countries -- our English blog has become more popular and well-read than we ever dreamed. We think success is worth celebrating, don't you?

For this reason, we are rolling out the red carpet and would like to present to you a whole new look for our French and English blogs. We are very excited to be launching the ParticipACTION YouTube Channel too! You can expect the same great content... but with a whole lot more pizzazz. We love it and we think you will too.

Visit the new ParticipACTION blog and YouTube Channel today!

Sports Day in Canada: Canadians Get in the Game and Get Active

The 2nd annual Sports Day in Canada kicked into high gear and was celebrated with gusto all across the nation in the days leading up to and including the official Sports Day on September 17th.

This grassroots celebration of sport, organized by ParticipACTION, CBC Sports and True Sport, encouraged all Canadians to get out and take part in a play a sport they love, or, to try a new sport for the first time. And Canadians took part in droves. 1.1532846715328466

Over a million people participated; by sweating it out while playing a sport, coolly cheering on participants, donning a team jersey to show support, or by tuning in to the official CBC broadcast.

Events were held in every province and territory and ran the gamut from karma yoga in the park in Edmonton, Alberta, a 'try ringette' event in Blainville, Quebec, a figure skating seminar in Charlottetown, P.E.I. and a community slow-pitch game in Wha Tì, (population 460), Northwest Territories.

CBC Sports captured many, inspirational Sports Day in Canada moments during the 6- hour television broadcast. If you missed the broadcast (because you were out playing a sport, of course), take a look at some of the highlight videos on the Sports Day in Canada website. "Don't miss clips" include the riveting athletes' panel discussion where four Canadian, gold-medal Olympians and Paralympians discuss the power of sport, and what it means to each of them.

After such a successful second year of this national event, next year's celebration promises to pick up further steam and see more people join the movement and celebrate sport. But remember - ParticipACTION thinks every day can be Sports Day - so get out there and play.

Tired of kids playing on the computer after school?

Motivate your kids to be more physically active during the week with ParticipACTION's After-school Physical Activity Guide and Tracker. Packed with fun things your kids can do during the 3pm-6pm time-frame that don't involve a computer screen, or sitting still.

Go to ParticipACTION's After-school webpage today to download your free copy and get your kids moving more afterschool.

We would love to hear about how active your kids are, as well as what you think of the After-School Activity Guide and Tracker. We greatly appreciate your time and opinions, and hope you'll participate in the following survey.

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.

1.1526104417670681

Tool of the Month: Take a look at ParticipACTION's article - Push, Pedal and Pound the Pavement to Better Health - ready for you to reprint in your own newsletter or website.

Feel free to view and download additional articles on physical activity and sport participation or other great resources online at the ParticipACTION Tool Kit webpage.

Tips from ParticipACTION's Active Living Ambassador

Make Fall an Active Season for You and Your Family

While summer always breezes by, if you ask me, fall is really the perfect season here in Canada. Crisp autumn days, gorgeous foliage and evenings that are still light enough to enjoy, provide the perfect backdrop for an active lifestyle - precisely the type of lifestyle we need to see Canadians of all ages embracing.

The research has long been out and it's a doom and gloom scenario where inactivity is concerned - for preschoolers, children, youth, and adults alike. The good news is that we can take matters into our own hands and change the statistics and impending health outcomes for our families and communities. After all, who likes doom and gloom?

Adding more physical activity to your family's day is easier than you think - here's how:

ACTIVE COMMUTE:

Active transportation needn't be limited to just the kids, or to walking for that matter. Cycling, skateboarding, and rollerblading all count too. Choose an active route to school, work, or wherever you go this Fall!

0.6288

ACTIVE AT SCHOOL OR WORK:

Getting to and from school or work is only a small portion of your child's/your school day. Try to learn more about how your children spend recess and lunch, or for that matter, just how rigorous a physical education program their schools are providing. While at work yourself, take some time through-out the day to go for a walk, or choose the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator from time to time.

AFTER SCHOOL OR WORK:

According to the 2011 Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, Canadian children and youth are sitting idle indoors during the after-school period of approximately 3 to 6 p.m. With only seven per cent of Canadian children and youth meeting the current guidelines of 60 minutes of heart-pumping physical activity per day, it's time every parent took a look at their children's lifestyles and perhaps their own too. If you've identified room for improvement, the only question remaining is "what now?" At our house, because we limit screen time, there's more time for bike rides with friends, cranking up the tunes and bouncing on the trampoline, backyard soccer practices, and working on dance choreography. At your home, and for your kids, it might be all about shooting hoops on the driveway, games of ball hockey at the park across the street, or tennis on nearby public courts. Regardless, it's all about taking a vital step, making a commitment, and moving more.

ACTIVE EVENINGS:

Although I tend to exercise in the mornings, I venture outdoors after dinner whenever possible for a run, walk or bike ride - as often as possible with the kids and our dog. For those with long and stressful work days, be assured that getting outdoors, even for 30 minutes of physical activity, is a perfect way to wind-down, de-stress and take steps towards better mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health.

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES:

Without a doubt, fall is my favorite season to plan outdoor weekend fun with my family. Though it's not always easy to work around soccer tournaments, homework and dance classes, we do our best to spend Sundays getting active as a family. From longer bike rides and hikes, to day trips to our favorite apple orchard or strolls in Toronto's beach community, we spend as much of our family time as possible, on the move.

Heres to a fun and active Fall!

Catherine Cameron

Active Living Ambassador & Director, Social Media

For more tips and articles written by Catherine Cameron, Ambassador, Active Living, or to chat with her, visit the ParticipACTION Blog. Keep up to date with the latest ParticipACTION news and join in on the discussion; become a fan of our FACEBOOK group, follow us on TWITTER or check out our BLOG.

Physical Activity News for Everyone

Is More Phys. Ed. the Route to Better Grades?

Do kids who spend more time moving their bodies get better grades in school? Scientists who study this sort of thing would say so. Recent articles in both the New York Times and the Globe and Mail cite new studies that point towards a significant link between kids' aerobic exercise and the ability to better concentrate and focus attention.

It seems that the ability to concentrate improves with any physical activity, but some types are better than others. The New York Times reported on a study that found that children who completed a 50-minute phys. ed. class that involved continuous, endurance exercises had the most significant increase in scores that measured their ability to pay attention and concentrate.

1.0275482093663912

Teachers are probably the first to concur - kids who have had enough physical activity settle down and hit the books more productively. One grade 5 teacher in downtown Toronto agrees. She often sends a fidgeting student out for a 10 minute run around the school field - even if it is right in the middle of a lesson. This teacher finds that once a student has gone for a run, he or she returns to class calmer and able to concentrate on the schoolwork.

The science to explain why physical activity affects learning is there; Mark Fenske, a neuroscientist at the University of Guelph, explains how physical activity impacts the brain in his article, published by the Globe and Mail. "Aerobic exercise, in particular, enhances blood flow through the brain. It also stimulates the release of a protein, which encourages the growth of new brain cells and neural connections - especially in regions involved in learning and cognitive processing."

Physical activity also cranks up kids' ability to remember things. Other studies show that kids who are more active have also proven to do better on relational-memory tests. When scientists look at the brain scans of children, kids with higher fitness levels have larger brain structures in areas that involve memory and cognitive control.

All of this evidence points to the academic benefits to increasing kids' physical education, rather than cutting back on gym class to cram in more classroom time. Maybe it's time to skip the homework and just get skipping.

Reynolds, Gretchen. "For Better Grades, Try Gym Class" New York Times. August 10, 2011.

Fenske, Mark. "Forget the tutor - a bike ride may help your kid's grades more" The Globe and Mail. Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011.

Whatever happened to walking to school?

October is International Walk to School month, and the growth of this event to include over 40 countries in 2011 can be seen as a positive movement to get kids walking to school. But on the flip-side, having to encourage and celebrate active transportation is a sign of the times - fewer kids get to school under their own steam than ever before.

0.7734939759036145

A 2010 study revealed that fewer than 25% of Canadian school-aged children use active transportation, (primarily walking and biking), to get to and from school. Contrast that with a hefty 62% who only get to and from class by means of motorized transport and this paints a picture of a generation that is missing out on one of the easiest and least expensive ways to boost much-needed, daily physical activity.

There are all sorts of reasons why our kids aren't getting themselves to school anymore; whether it is parental concerns about safety, bad weather, a matter of convenience, or even the attitudes of parents and friends - all have contributed to our current automobile-centric approach to starting and ending the school day.

October, being International Walk to School month, is a fitting time to take a closer look at why our own kids might not be making it to school on their own two feet, and provides a good reason to seize the opportunity to take advantage of some of the fantastic programs that are dedicated to reversing the motorized-transport to school trend.

In Canada, the Active and Safe Routes to School program is focused primarily on getting kids out of vehicles for the trip to school, and getting them walking or biking instead. Each province participating in the program has its own resources for parents and teachers to help overcome barriers that are stopping kids from walking to school. Programs like, "Walking Wednesdays", or "The Walking School Bus" - where families walk together for safety and pick up students along the route to school - are great examples of effective efforts at the community level to reinforce the habit of getting to and from school through old-fashioned kid-power.

To find out more about how you can get your child's school more involved in the international Walk to School Month and for programs in your province, visit iwalk, The Official Website of International Walk to School.

Physical Activity News for the Sector

Eat Well and Be Active Toolkit for Canadians

The Eat Well and Be Active Educational Toolkit is designed to help those who teach groups of children and adults about healthy eating and physical activity, and encourage individuals to take action to maintain and improve their health.

This Toolkit is a joint collaboration between Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

For more information on the Eat Well and Be Active Toolkit or to download a free copy, order hard copies, or obtain additional resources visit the Heath Canada website.

Research Update

Active employees show up for work more often

We all know that "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", but could it also be making him less productive at the office?

1.0102827763496145

Physical activity has been recognized as the most important factor in helping to reduce obesity and other chronic health conditions among Canadians. However, only 15% of the Canadian adults engage in the recommended amount of daily physical activity and approximately 70% spend their waking hours engaged in sedentary behaviors. To be classified as "sedentary" the activity must not raise energy expenditure above the resting level. This includes sleeping, sitting or lying down. We're talking about barely moving at all!

Unfortunately, many of us in the working population often spend over 40 hours a week engaged in sedentary behaviour at work alone. This does not bode well for the health of our workforce - as sedentary behaviors while at work have been linked to negative health outcomes among employees, such as absenteeism, disability, and various other chronic illnesses. And poor health in the workplace may result in poor productivity such as reduced quality and/or quantity of work.

There is good news - recent evidence indicates that workplace interventions have been shown to have a positive influence on physical activity levels and other health outcomes. Employers are tuning-in to this and many are becoming more health conscious by supporting workplace wellness programs for their employees.

For more on this intriguing topic, read on to get more information and tips on how to get active and healthy while on the clock!

For more information, see our Research Files.

For tips related to getting active at work see our Lifestyle Tips.

Q & A

Q- I have being having trouble getting my partner to join me in taking part in my new passion for physical activity and healthy living. Can you suggest how we might be able to spend time together and be active at the same time?

A- Why not make a date of it? Physical activity and love can each make the heart beat faster - so why not combine them for a heart-healthy, get-active "date" with your special someone? Whether you're on a first date, you've shared a lifetime together, or you're somewhere in between, get-active dates provide the opportunity to have fun, develop or share a common interest, and to learn more about your partner. Here are a few options a fun forget-active date:

Go for a hike together. Explore your city or a nearby community.
Take a lesson/class together. Whether it's tennis, kayaking, dancing or rock climbing, taking a lesson together can be a fun way to explore a new activity and share some laughs
Bike ride with one another.
Do errands together. Actively commute by walking, wheeling or riding.
Get some more ideas or thought starts for an active-date on our Blog or under the Get Moving page on our Website.

Got a question about getting more active? Visit our website to learn more about Moving More! Still can't find your answer? Connect with our Active Living Ambassador on our Blog, Facebook, and through Twitter, or send your questions to the editor at info@participACTION.com.

Professional Development

Ontario Public Health Association Conference:

Engaging Priority Populations

Toronto, ON

October 5-6

"Engaging Priority Populations" is the theme for the 2011 Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA) Fall Forum, a joint initiative of OPHA and Health Promotion Ontario (HPO). This is the largest forum for public and community health workers in the province of Ontario.

The Forum aims to:

Identify effective strategies and tools to engage priority populations
Explore innovative practice-based approaches to managing challenges and taking advantage of opportunities
Present practice-based examples of how public health professionals can enhance interest and participation in policy issues
Explore opportunities for innovative partnerships with those who also serve priority populations

For more information on the Conference or to register visit the OPHA website.

Ophea Conference

October 13-15

Alliston, ON

Don't miss the 40th annual Ophea Conference! Join educators - generalists, specialists and administrators - as well as leaders in public health and recreation for an inspiring and interactive professional development experience focusing on:

The development of physical and health literacy
Ways to easily implement the Health & Physical Education curriculum and to adopt a healthy schools and communities approach
Family Physical Activity, TGfU, and sport & intramural ideas
Innovative ways to address health promotion topics
Assessment & evaluation tools

For more information on the Conference, or to register, visit the Ophea website.

ARPA Annual Conference and Energize Workshop

Lake Louise, AB

October 27-29

The theme for this year's ARPA Conference is "Recreation and Parks: Bringing Quality to Life."Bringing together the province's best and brightest from the parks and recreation field is an opportunity to find solutions and break down barriers that will benefit individual and community wellbeing. Your contributions will be invaluable as we work to further enhance the quality of life for all Albertans.

For more information, or to register for the Conference and Workshop, visit the ARPA Conference webpage.

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 130 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 ccbradstreet@participACTION .com.

Highlights and Events

Walk to School Month

International

October 1 -31

International Walk to School Month (IWALK) is the annual, premier event of the Active & Safe Routes to School program, taking place each October. It is a mass celebration of active transportation and its related issues are used to introduce communities to the Active & Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) program.

This year, Green Communities Canada is collaborating with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario to bring schools an exciting new spin on walking to school or walking at school - iCANwalk to school ... can you?

For more information on walking to school programs visit the I Walk to School website.

Canada's Healthy Workplace Month (CHWM)

National

October 1-31

Canada's Healthy Workplace Month (CHWM) encourages Canadian organizations to promote the benefits of workplace health year round. This four week-long celebration is designed to introduce workplace health to organizations and support those that are already promoting healthy workplaces. CHWM is presented by Great-West Life and managed by the National Quality Institute in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

For more information on Canada's Healthy Workplace Month, or for ideas on how to promote healthy living in your work environment, visit the following website.

National Family Week

National

October 3-9

Each fall, during the first week of October, Canadians in communities across the country come together for local celebrations during National Family Week (NFW). The week provides an opportunity to celebrate families and reflect on their importance in our lives.

For more information on National Family Week, including ideas for fun activities that families can do together, visit theCanadian Association of Family Resource Programs website.

Cape to Cabot 20K Marathon 2011

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

October 16

Cape to Cabot is Newfoundland and Labrador's premier road racing event, now in its fifth year. The course is tough , organized by runners for runners, but covers beautiful and historic ground along the way.

For more information, or to register for the race, visit the Cape to Cabot website.

Success Stories

St. Lawrence Academy Sports Day - A Huge Success!

St. Lawrence Academy Sports Day was a fun and active sports day, which was a huge success, especially in helping to promote Motivate Canada's 2nd annual Sports Day in Canada! Around 45 students, with 3 volunteers besides myself, my gym teacher, principal and other supervising teachers helped out/participated! We warmed-up, played shark tag, 4 corner soccer, and chicken race... all fun children's games! Everyone had a blast! :)

Submitted by:

Gillian Lambert
Sports Day in Canada Participant from Newfoundland

View other Success Stories or submit your own on the ParticipACTION website.

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