Childhood Obesity (8) - Healthy eating

Currently the curriculum-stipulated 20 minutes are for the subject of “Health and Physical Education,” which comprises of two distinct components, namely, physical activity and learning make healthy food choice. The Ministry of Education should seriously consider splitting the topics covered in this subject into two distinct subjects: One for physical education and the other for healthy eating. We should start educating our children when they are young how to make healthy food choices and nurture good eating habits. Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide, released in 2007, provides guidance on the amount of food for adults, teens and children. The Guide also includes information on the quality of food choices for healthy eating such as the type of fat, the total energy content of foods (Bush et al., 2007).

Children tend to remember things they see and hear often. If they are bombarded by the same (and correct) message, hopefully they will remember it well for the rest of their lives. Thus, the emphasis on eating healthy should be repetitive across all grades.

Reference
Bush, M. A. A., et al. (2007). Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide: “A Tool for the Times.” Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 68(2):92-96. 2007.

Childhood Obesity (7) - Physical activity

The World Health Organization recommends that “at least 60 minutes of regular, moderate- to vigorous-intensity each day” (WHO, 2008b). From the current Elementary Curriculum, a stipulation of “a minimum of twenty minutes each day of vigorous physical activity pales far below the World Health Organization’s recommendation. It is not seem enough, nor has it been followed coherently by school’s curricular administrators. The minimum time should be increased to 60 minutes, as recommended by the World Health Organization. In addition, the “each day” stipulation has not been adhered to constantly.
A study showed that children of low-income families face more obstacles than their peers of middle- and upper-income families even if they want to participate in more physical activities such as lack of transportation, cost of equipment and fees for certain sports (Evers et al., 2007). The government should consider providing more funding to schools in low-income communities so that such schools can purchase sports equipment, perhaps used ones, so that children can play sports after school. School boards should also schedule school buses that run later so that children can have a viable means to get home after finishing after-school physical activities.

Reference
WHO (2008b). “What can be done to fight the childhood obesity epidemic?” World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood_what_can_be_done/en/.
Evers, S., et al. (2007). Persistence of Overweight among Young Children Living in Low Income Communities in Ontario. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 26(3):219-224, 2007.