Active Healthy Kids Research Articles

A Model of Knowledge Translation in Health

The health of Canadian children and youth has deteriorated in the past few decades and physical inactivity is a powerful contributor. Active Healthy Kids Canada (AHKC; www.activehealthykids.ca) is a national not-for-profit organization with a mission to inspire the nation to engage all children and youth in physical activity by providing expertise and direction to policy makers and the public on how to increase and effectively allocate resources and attention toward physical activity for Canadian children and youth. Annually, for the past 7 years, the AHKC Report Card has consolidated and translated research knowledge to drive social action for policy change relating to physical activity among children and youth. Original published articles and key surveillance data from national and regional surveys are reviewed. A group of content experts from across Canada meet semiannually to review the evidence and assign letter grades. The AHKC Report Card has played a key role in informing discussions that have led to action on physical inactivity in Canada. Further evidence of the Report Card's influence is in the replication of the model in several other jurisdictions, including Saskatchewan and Ontario, Canada; Louisiana, United States; South Africa; Mexico; and Kenya.

Health Education Re-conceptualized and Its Implications for Ontario School Health Education Curriculum

A health crisis alarm is sounding across North America. As Rob Merrifield, the Chair of the Standing Committee on Health of the House of Commons of Canada declared, “For the first time in recorded history, our younger generation are expected to live shorter lives than their parents due to obesity. New and aggressive action is required to address this complex, and ultimately very costly, problem (House of Commons of Canada, 2007). Physically inactivity significantly worsens as children grow older, and Canada has received a failing D grade for the third straight year in 2007 (Active Healthy Kids Canada, 2007).

Major Initiatives Related to Childhood Obesity and Physical Inactivity in Canada

This commentary briefly reviews 10 significant initiatives related to childhood obesity and physical inactivity in Canada in 2007. These include: the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit; CAN-PLAY research findings from the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute; resurrection of ParticipACTION; Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids report from the Standing Committee on Health; launch of the Canadian Health Measures Survey; publication of the Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management and Prevention of Obesity in Adults and Children; Canada’s food and beverage industry initiatives launch; hosting the International Conference on Physical Activity and Obesity in Children; release of the Active Healthy Kids Canada report card on physical activity for children and youth; and publication of the “advancing the future of Canada’s physical activity measurement and guidelines” project. The diversity and intensity of activity addressing the childhood obesity and physical inactivity “epidemic” in Canada is encouraging and must be maintained.