It’s not just adults who seek inspiration from others when losing weight. The kids need it too.
A new study by the University of Alberta shows that children who are encouraged to be active by their parents are 22 per cent less likely to be overweight than those whose parents encourage them less.
“We asked parents how much they care about staying fit and exercising, and how often they encourage their children to be active and how often they participate in activities with their child,” said Kerry Vander Ploeg, researcher for the study and PhD candidate with the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta.
The research showed that the more parents cared and engaged in activities with their children, the fitter the kids were, and the less likely to be overweight.
The data was collected in the spring of 2008 and 2010 through the Raising healthy Eating and Active Living (REAL) Kids Alberta survey, Vander Ploeg said.
The idea is to get children to turn off the TV and video games and go outside and be active, rather than signing them up for expensive programs and over-encouraging them, Vander Ploeg said.
“Parents don’t have to be the all-star athlete but simply encourage and support their child in developing a healthy, active behaviour and lifestyle that has a benefit on their levels of physical activity and weight status,” she said.
“And a good way of doing that is to be active together.”
Anne Hanson, a St. Albert resident and mother of two, said she visits Servus Credit Union Place two to three times a week to exercise. Though her sons are still young (three and four years old), she takes them to a child-care centre at Servus and they often join her for workouts at home.
“I wanted the kids to be active and at this age they are active nonstop,” she said.
“But when they get to school and sit a bit more, it could be easy to slide into a routine of doing it another day or only going to soccer on Saturdays.”
Hanson said she never exercised regularly when growing up, but got into it after her pregnancies. She made a conscious decision to make sure her sons understand the importance of fitness.
Not having had the same amenities when she was young, she said it was great that more places now offer activities for children. Her sons have already learned the basics of most sports at Servus Place and the family plays games at home.
“I can have them in soccer and swimming but it’s also important that they have the idea that you can get outside and play and have fun and get the heart rate up a little bit,” she said.
“I think fitness and activity benefit them physically, emotionally, mentally. And they are more social.”
Bryce McLeod, fitness and wellness co-ordinator at Servus Place, saw a lot more families work out in recent months. He said awareness about staying fit together may have grown and it is positive for youth to see their parents promote a healthy, active lifestyle.
“Some people require that extra motivation. Children may require that extra motivation and some also have strong minds and find their own thing,” he said.
“But having an active parent doing that encouraging is creating a good home environment and sets up good values and good practices.”
Vander Ploeg added that most overweight children report greater barriers to being physically active and require more encouragement than children of normal weight.
Currently, less than 10 per cent of children in Alberta meet the recommendation of daily physical activity, which is 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity or 13,500 steps a day on at least six days a week.
She said providing a school environment that encourages healthy lifestyles reinforces what children learn at home. Conversely, seeing their children enjoy sports at school inspires parents to be more active as a family, she said.
