2009 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

Presentation Outline Active Healthy Kids Canada History, Strategic Direction, Strategic Partners 2009 Report Card Active Kids are Fit to Learn: Highlighting the Relationship Between Physical Activity, Learning and Academic Performance Report Card Influences and Indicators: How Do the Pieces of the Puzzle Fit Together? Physical Activity/Inactivity School Family and Peers Community and Built Environment Policy

About Active Healthy Kids Canada Established in 1994, a national organization with a passionate voice for the development of active healthy children and youth in Canada. Focused on making physical activity a major priority in the everyday lives of Canadian families. Committed to providing expertise and direction to policymakers and the public on increasing and effectively allocating resources and attention toward physical activity for children and youth.

Active Healthy Kids Canada Strategic national leadership – advancing knowledge, evidence- informed communication and advocacy strategies – to influence issue stakeholders who affect physical activity opportunities for children and youth. The primary vehicle to achieve this mandate is the Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth and its related activities. Mandate

Strategic Partners

2009: The Fifth Annual Report Card The Report Card is an evidence-informed communications and advocacy piece designed to provide insight into Canada’s “state of the nation” each year on how, as a country, we are being responsible in providing physical activity opportunities for children and youth.

Active Kids are Fit to Learn The 2009 Report Card shines a light on the relationship between physical activity, sport, comprehensive school health approaches and effective learning. Physical activity builds strong, smart kids.

Growing Strong, Smart Kids Research indicates that even when the time is taken away from other subjects, physical education and physical activity do not negatively affect academic achievement and in fact have positive effects on learning and academic performance: production of substances that protect delicate neurons in the brain improvements in memory, concentration, and attention span improvements in grades and test scores increased self-esteem, self-confidence and self-image reduced misconduct behaviours at school increased feelings of school connectedness supporting kids with developmental or learning differences

Ontario school health initiative including physical activity indicated a 36% increase in reading and a 24% increase in math scores over a two-year period. A study of over 5,000 students indicated that girls with the highest levels of physical education participation had higher math and reading scores. Another US study of over 12,000 students indicated that daily physical activity was associated with higher math and reading achievement. Alberta study of 5,000, which showed that active living had positive results on school performance. Growing Strong, Smart Kids

Report Card Influences and Indicators How do the pieces of the puzzle fit together?

Report Card Influences and Indicators The Report Card has been revised to frame around the Physical Activity Levels grade. It continues to assess the influences and indicators that have an impact on Physical Activity Levels. It also continues to look at the outcomes associated with physical activity and how these also then influence Physical Activity Levels.

Key Indicator: Physical Activity Levels The Physical Activity Levels grade is based on Canadian Physical Activity Levels Among Youth (CanPLAY) Survey which takes annual measures and uses pedometers to objectively measure physical activity. This Grade directly ties to the goal set by Ministers of Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation to increase the number of children and youth meeting physical activity guidelines to 17% by 2015 – this allows for an annual measure of progress in each Report Card.

Physical Activity Levels F Moving on Up? The proportion meeting the guidelines has increased from 9% in 2006 to 13% in statistically significant progress A Long Way to Go… Objectively measured data indicates 87% are not meeting Canada’s physical activity guidelines PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

CanPLAY Survey Results - Proportion Meeting Guidelines PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

CanPLAY Survey Results - Mean Number of Steps PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

2007 Canadian Community Healthy Survey Proportion of 12 to 17 year old boys and girls who self-report they are moderately active or active, by province/territory. National averages for boys and girls PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

Active Play Inc There is not comprehensive nationally representative data to adequately assess this indicator, but only 50% of young children indicate participating in unorganized sport. Regional information indicates a third of youth report doing no physical activity as part of their free time and 60% of disabled youth report that they seldom or never play games with friends.

Nature Deficit Disorder Children are missing out on ‘everyday adventures’; those small but significant experiences through which they learn about the world, develop their coordination and grow independence. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

Active Transportation Although nearly 2/3 of Canadian families indicate living within a reasonable distance to walk or cycle to school, just over 1/3 report having walked to school and 80% report never having cycled to school. D PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

Organized Sport and Physical Activity Participation C Children from the lowest income level are three times more likely to never have participated in organized activities and sports compared to those in the highest income level. Youth with disabilities have significantly lower sport participation levels PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

Health Behaviour of School-Aged Children Survey Participation in individual and team sports – disparities for youth with disabilities. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

Screen Time F Current national data indicates that only 10% of Canadian youth are meeting the guideline for screen time of <2 hours per day, and many get close to 6 hours per day. However, new regional surveys show positive findings, moving to levels closer to the guideline. The increase in active gaming may help transition screen time from strictly being a sedentary activity, but cannot replace other forms of physical activity. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

Sedentary versus active gaming: energy expenditure PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

Physical Education C- Only 23% of schools that say that only a trained physical educator teaches physical education—a substantial decrease since 2001 A smaller proportion of students are taking PE in secondary school compared to the elementary level, yet more teachers trained in PE work in the secondary than in middle and elementary schools SCHOOL

BC Principals Survey : Elementary school is a time of critical importance in the establishment of proper motor development and skills – students, require high-quality PE instruction to ensure that they start off on the right path when it comes to physical activity and sport participation SCHOOL

BC Principals Survey : Barriers to PE Implementation SCHOOL

Sport and Physical Activity Opportunities at School B- Regional data from a number of jurisdictions indicate that 70% of students feel schools place some emphasis on student participation in recreational sports and more than 80% report that their school put some emphasis on developing positive attitudes about physical activity and self-esteem SCHOOL

Infrastructure and Equipment B 80-95% of schools have a gyms, playground equipment, playing fields, and paved play areas, with the 60-75% of students and schools reporting these are in good condition There has a decrease in access to baseball diamonds, skating rinks, running tracks, swimming pools, tennis courts, or weight rooms SCHOOL

School Policy C 65% of schools surveyed report having a policy to increase physical activity among students 53% have fully implemented policies to provide a range of physical activity opportunities 46% have implemented policies to hire those with university qualifications in PE SCHOOL

Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute: 2006 Schools Survey SCHOOL

FAMILY AND PEERS Family Environment C+ A regional study indicates that 88% of parents say their children are physically active, yet objective measures indicate that 87% are not meeting guidelines Evidence exists that parents are working to ensure activity through encouragement, financial support, transportation and volunteering

Peer Influence A review of literature from concluded a positive association exists between physical activity and friend support More participants indicated friends participation is associated with unstructured vs. structured physical activity. Inc FAMILY AND PEERS

Peer Influence “They all played so I joined too” “Friends taught and encouraged me” FAMILY AND PEERS

Proximity and Accessibility B 92% percent of parents surveyed feel that there are adequate programs and facilities for their kids to be active locally 58% of Canadian municipalities surveyed offer discounted fee structures for families to help encourage and promote physical activity COMMUNITY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Usage of Facilities, Programs, Park and Playgrounds D Only 15% of parents report frequent use of programs and facilities and 34% of report frequent use of parks and spaces COMMUNITY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Community Programming B+ 84% of Canadian municipalities report that they offer physical activity programming or scheduling targeted towards families – an increase since 2000 The majority of Canadian parents also report that the programs and facilities meet the needs of their children well or very well COMMUNITY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Perceptions of Safety and Maintenance B For over a decade, perceptions of neighbourhood safety have remained high in parents of preschool children 83% of youth report that their neighbourhood is safe for younger children to play outside COMMUNITY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Municipal Policies and Regulations D One quarter of municipalities have guidelines specifying bicycle racks at public buildings and only 20%-40% indicate having specific policies requiring safe pedestrian and bicycle routes when retrofitting existing communities or developing new areas COMMUNITY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Federal Government Strategies and Investments C While there have been some promising investments for sport and recreation infrastructure in 2008, the actions for the Standing Committee on Health Report from 2007 need attention Federal transfer payments on sport and physical activity have dropped slightly despite a promise of 1% of federal health funding to be directed at health promotion in 2007 POLICY

Provincial Government Strategies and Investments C+ The collective goal declared by provincial Ministers of Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation to increase physical activity levels by 2015 provides an impetus to reinforce provincial strategies and investments, but there needs to be increased attention given to gathering data and evaluative information on these various strategies POLICY

Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Ministers: 2015 National Physical Activity Targets By 2015, for children and youth aged 5 to 19 years: to increase, by seven percentage points the proportion of children and youth who participate in 90 minutes of moderate-to- vigorous physical activity to increase the average number of steps taken by all children and youth from 11,500 steps to 14,500 steps per day, which is equivalent to an increase of 30 minutes of physical activity per day. POLICY

Comprehensive Approach to Sport and Physical Activity: Sport Matters Group POLICY

Industry, Philanthropic and Research Investments B- There has been an increase in support from philanthropic, research and industry funding sources in the area of physical activity – continued engagement and enhanced involvement of these sectors is critical to further facilitating behaviour change POLICY

A public awareness mechanism and call to action through a nationwide media advocacy strategy An accountability index for all Canadians A surveillance synthesis mechanism An advocacy tool for physical activity leaders and orgs A policy driver A process for identifying research and surveillance needs A challenge to other countries and jurisdictions to implement similar processes to allow comparisons and facilitate improvements The Report Card serves as...

2009 Report Card Research Work Group Chair – Mark Tremblay CHEO Research Institute Coordinator - Rachel Colley CHEO Research Institute Cora Craig / Sue Cragg CFLRI Ian Janssen Queens University Steve Manske/Erin Hobin University of Waterloo Louise Masse University of British Columbia John Spence University Alberta Doug Willms University of New Brunswick Michelle Brownrigg Active Healthy Kids Canada

Data Sources Key data sources: Health Behaviour of School-aged Children Survey (HBSC) Tell Them from Me Survey (TTFM) Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute: 2005 Physical Activity Monitor; 2006 Survey of Canadian Schools; CANPLAY Survey; 2004 Survey of Municipalities Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) National Longitudinal Survey on Children and Youth (NLSCY) Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, Statistics Canada (PALS) SHAPE Survey (Alberta Preschoolers) WEB-Span Survey (Alberta) School Health Action Planning and Evaluation System (SHAPES) SHAPES: School Health Environment Survey In addition, the long form Report Card includes a comprehensive set of references and a variety of specific recommendations in each section and can be accessed at activehealthykids.ca.

2008 Report Card Supporters The 2009 Report Card is supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada and:

activehealthykids.ca