By Dave McGinn | The Globe and Mail
The Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, released by the non-profit organization dedicated to promoting healthy living and physical fitness, found that only 35 per cent of five- to 17-year-olds and 62 per cent of children ages 3 and 4 are getting the recommended physical-activity levels for their age group and that this may be having an impact on the health of their brains. “For better brain health, all children and youth should be physically active on a regular basis. In addition to physical health benefits, physical activity also improves cognition, brain function and mental health,” according to the statement that accompanies the report.
The Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, released by the non-profit organization dedicated to promoting healthy living and physical fitness, found that only 35 per cent of five- to 17-year-olds and 62 per cent of children ages 3 and 4 are getting the recommended physical-activity levels for their age group and that this may be having an impact on the health of their brains.
“For better brain health, all children and youth should be physically active on a regular basis. In addition to physical health benefits, physical activity also improves cognition, brain function and mental health,” according to the statement that accompanies the report.
The Globe and Mail’s Dave McGinn spoke to Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer of the report card and director of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute’s Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, about how physical activity affects mental health and what parents can do to help make their kids more active.
