Increasing weather alerts across the country and the impacts of climate change are becoming an additional barrier to children and youth being active in Canada, according to a new report.
2024 Physical Activity Report Card for Children and Youth by ParticipACTION gives children a “D+” grade in overall physical activity, up from a “D” grade in 2022.
The report shows that only 39 percent of children and young people, ages 5 to 17, get the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.
ParticipACTION says barriers to staying active have varied for children and young people, including increased screen time, reduced active transportation opportunities, financial costs and commitments, and limited access to green spaces. Now, the report says the impacts of a changing climate are an additional barrier to getting children and young people active.
“While the General Physical Activity grade has improved, a D+ remains an undesirable grade,” the report says.
“As Canada continues to slowly recover from the residual effects of the pandemic on physical activity (e.g., closures, physical distancing, and pause in organized sports), the impacts of climate change continue to build on pandemic-related challenges to children”.
The report notes that “unfavorable weather and climate conditions,” such as heat waves, heavy rain and smoky air, are leading to the cancellation of recesses and outdoor sports and recreational activities, forcing children to stay at home.
“Given that overall physical fitness has a direct impact on heat tolerance, it is possible that children being less fit than ever could also impact their ability to acclimatize and tolerate the rising temperatures of a changing climate,” says ParticipACTION.
“In addition, since children cannot regulate their temperature in extremely hot and cold climates as well as adults due to their greater body surface area relative to weight, this puts them at greater health risk in extreme temperatures even before that physical fitness levels are taken into account.”
Ottawa, eastern Ontario and western Quebec experienced several days of smoke and haze due to the wildfires that ravaged Quebec last summer. Environment Canada issued special air quality statements due to high levels of air pollution and people were encouraged to limit outdoor activities.
The report calls for government investment to increase access to public and active transport to school and other daily commitments to improve physical activity levels. Other recommendations include that school boards create policies to safeguard active play when recess cannot take place outdoors to reduce sedentary and screen time, and that communities ensure that indoor recreation facilities have air filtration systems. high quality air.
ParticipACTION also recommends organized sports programs for children and youth to have heat alert systems and develop clear and easy-to-implement guidelines and policies for adverse weather events.
Here’s a look at ParticipACTION’s 2024 Physical Activity for Children and Youth Report Card:
Active game: D-. The report says 22 percent of children and youth accumulated more than two hours per day of unstructured indoor and outdoor play.
Organized sport: B. The report shows that 66 percent of children and youth ages 5 to 17 participated in organized sports last year.
Physical education: C. Fifty-three percent of students met physical education benchmarks.
Sedentary behaviors: D. Twenty-seven percent of children and youth met the recommended recreational screen time limit of no more than two hours a day.
Sleep: B. Sixty-five percent of children and youth met age-specific sleep recommendations.
24-hour movement behavior: F. The study shows that only four percent of children and youth met the combined 24-hour Movement Guidelines.