Abstract
BackgroundHealthy movement behaviours of Canadian children and youth have been found to be suboptimal; this is associated with declines in physical fitness, increases in obesity, and elevated chronic disease risk. Physical literacy is an evolving construct representing foundational domains upon which physically active lifestyles are based. Many sectors and organizations in Canada are embracing physical literacy in their programs, practices, policies, and research; however, the use of inconsistent definitions and conceptualizations of physical literacy had been identified by stakeholders as hindering promotion and advancement efforts.MethodsWith leadership from ParticipACTION, organizations from the physical activity, public health, sport, physical education, and recreation sectors collaborated to create a physical literacy consensus definition and position statement for use by all Canadian organizations and individuals. The process involved an environmental scan, survey of related evidence, stakeholder consultations, and creation of a Steering Committee. From this background work a consensus statement was drafted, shared with stakeholders, revised, and ratified.ResultsCanada’s Physical Literacy Consensus Statement was launched in June 2015 at the International Physical Literacy Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. To further promote the Consensus Statement, the Sport for Life Society developed and simultaneously released the “Vancouver Declaration”, which contained additional guidance on physical literacy. Both the Consensus Statement and the Declaration endorsed the International Physical Literacy Association’s definition of physical literacy, namely “the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life”.ConclusionsSector partners hope that the Consensus Statement, with its standardized definition, brings greater harmony, synergy, and consistency to physical literacy efforts in Canada and internationally. Going forward, the impact of this initiative on the sector, and the more distal goal of increasing habitual physical activity levels, should be assessed.
Highlights
Healthy movement behaviours of Canadian children and youth have been found to be suboptimal; this is associated with declines in physical fitness, increases in obesity, and elevated chronic disease risk
The purpose of this paper is to describe the processes employed to develop and release Physical and Health Education Canada (Canada)’s Physical Literacy Consensus Statement (2015), and to present and discuss the outcomes of this harmonization initiative
Environmental scan In addition to their commitment to develop a common definition of physical literacy, ParticipACTION intended to enhance sector knowledge and understanding of existing initiatives and identify the needs of the physical activity, sport, and recreation sectors related to physical literacy
Summary
Healthy movement behaviours of Canadian children and youth have been found to be suboptimal; this is associated with declines in physical fitness, increases in obesity, and elevated chronic disease risk. Guidelines for Children and Youth recommend that for healthy growth and development, children and youth (aged 5–17 years) should achieve high levels of physical activity, low levels of sedentary behaviour, and sufficient sleep each day [13]. Tremblay et al BMC Public Health 2018, 18(Suppl 2):1034 per week; and several hours of a variety of structured and unstructured light physical activities. Measured physical activity data show that only 9% of Canadian children and youth aged 5–17 years are getting enough physical activity to meet the guidelines of at least 60 min of MVPA daily [17]. Among younger children (aged 3–4 years), 70% amassed a minimum of 180 min of light or moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily [17], consistent with the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for the Early Years [18]
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