“In Motion” Transcript

The Canadian Institute for Health Information released a study last week that directly links the amount of time a child or teen spends in fron of a TV or computer screen to their level of obesity.

For children aged 6-11, 48 per cent of them spent two hours or more in front of the TV or computer, while 31 per cent of non-overweight kids did so. It found that while boys generally have a higher level of activity than girls, it is still being overshadowed by the use of computers and video games.

Mali Coulombe coaches a girls basketball team and says that the practice her players get three times a week is often not enough.

Mali Coulombe:

They think that “ok I got a good workout”, and their parents probably think the same thing, that they ran a lot on Tuesday night, or Sunday, or Thursday, or whatever our practice is; that’s good for the week. But I think people forget little things, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or going outside and playing with their friends instead of playing inside on a video game. People don’t see that as activity, like people don’t see that as getting out and being active. So I think if people start noticing how little something is can be active, they would maybe change their mind.

Last week, the city of Fredericton launched “in motion”, a new effort to promote healthy living in New Brunswick. Fredericton Director of Communicty Services, Wayne Tallon, says the program is a direct result of national concern for rising obesity rates.

Wayne Tallon:

Well, I think right now we’re right there in the trend. Our kids are overweight, our adults are overweight as well. The total population, I guess, is overweight, and becoming more and more at risk, and that concerns me. I think it’s my responsibility to help these people as much as I can, through the resources that are made available to me, to get them out there and being more active.

In 2008, Statistics Canada names New Brunswick the second fattest province in the country. The Canadian institute for Health information says that simple activites like waking to school, practicing with a team, or diong household chores can help lower the levels of childhood obesity. For Stu Journalism, I’m Jayne Erickson.

Short URL: http://www.newbrunswickbeacon.ca/?p=2230

Posted by Jayne Erickson on Oct 26, 2009. Filed under Transcripts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.