Let's help kids Be Active Every Day

I think we can all agree that kids aren’t as active as they should be when they are sitting around watching TV or playing on the computer or tablet. Our children would be much healthier playing sports, running around in the park, or in keeping with this year’s Be Active Every Day theme, riding their bikes. In fact the Active Healthy Kids Canada report card tells us only 9% of Canadian kids age 5-11 get enough exercise each day.

So, what can doctors do? We can use our medical knowledge to inform kids about the benefits of active, healthy lifestyles – and bring out our inner kid to make it fun for them. I am excited to join my colleagues across the province and challenge kids to be active for 60 minutes every day.  

Be Active Every Day – taking place October 5th - 30th – is a Doctors of BC initiative that aims to increase kids’ physical activity and knowledge of healthy living. Through a physician-led awareness program partnered with elementary schools in our communities, doctors are talking to kids about the importance of being active, eating healthy, and providing them with promotional items to make being active more fun. Promoting the simple Live 5-2-1-0 message encourages kids to enjoy healthy food, power down their screens, get out and play, and choose healthy drinks.  

We hope kids will turn the healthy choices they’re making all month long into healthy habits to last a lifetime!

We are fortunate to have Sean Fincham and Miranda Miller, who represented Team Canada at the Mountain Bike World Championships this September, as our ‘Bike Stars’. Through a series of videos, Sean and Miranda will inspire kids to be more active. These high performance athletes are excited to show kids what they can achieve when they focus on a goal and dedicate the time to achieve it.

The ‘bike star’ videos, photographs of the kids in action, and lots more information on Be Active Every Day can be found here. Hopefully it will inspire you to take part next year!  I wish to thank all the doctors taking part in this year’s Challenge – it couldn’t happen without your interest and effort. As for me, I look forward to challenging the kids at my local school, having fun, staying active – and maybe developing a new healthy habit of my own.

Dr Charles Webb
President, 2015-2016