Northern Ontario kids aren't as healthy as you think

Four out of every five parents in Northern Ontario occasionally or almost always have to skip certain types of food when shopping because of cost, according to a just-released report from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

The report, released today in Sudbury, also found that just seven percent of Northern Ontario children are getting the minimum daily recommended servings of five fruit and vegetables per day, compared to 13 percent in Southern Ontario.

And just half of Northern Ontario children are physically active three or more times a week in winter, the report concludes.

The following statement was issued by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

************************* Heart and Stroke Foundation report asks: Is the heart health of Ontario's kids making the grade?

SUDBURY - (September 9) - The 2009 Heart and Stroke Report on the Health of Ontario’s Kids, the first-ever survey of its kind in the province, shows that our children are still facing an unhealthy childhood due to a lack of physical activity and poor eating habits, even though statistics 10 years ago brought these problems to light.

And if the situation doesn’t improve soon, this generation of children - through no fault of their own - will experience a shorter lifespan than their parents due to the risk of developing life-threatening illnesses such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

“This report should serve as a wake-up call that the health of our children is not making the grade,” said Dr. Greg Ross, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario spokesperson. “Despite mandatory nutrition labelling and a new edition of the Canada’s Food Guide, we’re not seeing bigger gains in healthy eating.”

The most disappointing finding is the number of children meeting the daily recommendations for fruit and vegetables, which has dropped by more than a third in just one decade.

Ten years ago, one in five children was eating five or more servings of fruit and vegetables daily, which just meets Canada’s Food Guide daily recommended minimum.

But in 2009, that number dropped to a mere one in eight children (13 percent).

Heart and Stroke report card on Ontario's kids

In 1998, when the Heart and Stroke Foundation surveyed a national sample of parents of children aged six to 12 years, it found only one in five children was eating the recommended five or more daily servings of fruit and vegetables and only one in three was eating whole grain breads or cereals.

Almost one quarter (24 percent) ate some form of junk food (chips, French fries, candy or chocolate bars) three or more times a week.

The good news appeared to be related to physical activity patterns, with 88 percent of parents reporting that their children were physically active during the summer.

However, the same parents reported that during winter, the proportion that was active would drop dramatically, to only 66 percent.

Jump forward 10 years and the findings aren’t much different, which is particularly worrisome given the rising tide of overweight and obesity among children in Ontario.

The encouraging news is that parents are reporting more whole-grain consumption: almost half of Ontario’s children appear to be eating whole grains.

But junk food consumption has remained consistent, with three-quarters of children still consuming high-fat, high-sugar or high-salt snack foods up to twice a week.

One out of four (24 percent) parents reported their children eat junk food three or more times a week.

The proportion who are active during the summer has remained consistent (89 percent in 2009 vs. 88 percent in 1998).

There has been a significant decline in the proportion of Ontario’s kids who are physically active three or more times a week during winter (57 percent in 2009 compared to 66 percent 10 years ago).

“Even the limited decrease in physical activity is distressing, especially when you see that we still have one in four children eating junk food three times or more a week,” says Dr. Ross who is also associate dean, research, of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). “We clearly need to reinforce the need for a balance of energy in to energy out throughout the year.”

The hard truth about kids’ weight

Results from the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s poll must be tempered by the knowledge that parents tend to view their children’s eating and physical activity patterns through rose-coloured glasses.

For example, in the Foundation’s 2009 poll, approximately 14 percent of parents reported their child is “somewhat overweight” and one percent reported that their child is “very overweight,” for a total of 15 percent.

“However, we know that over the past 25 years, the rate of overweight and obesity among Canadian children aged two to 17-years has grown from 15 percent to 26 percent, and in Ontario the current rate of overweight and obesity is even slightly higher at 28 percent.”

“This suggests that like many 'self-report' findings, parents do not accurately perceive their child’s weight,” says John Binks, community mission specialist, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (HSFO).

Similarly, parents may be underestimating their children’s junk food consumption - and overestimating their children’s level of physical activity.

For example, a 2008 study by Statistics Canada, comparing child and parent reports on the child’s leisure time activity, found when their reports of the child’s activities were compared, 33 percent of the children reported more computer and video games usage than their parents had indicated, and 34 percent of children reported more television viewing.

Children who spend more than two hours of screen time a day (watching television, playing video games and using the computer) are twice as likely to be obese than those who spend an hour or less in such activities.

"Childhood is a crucial time where habits are developed that, in many cases, can last a lifetime," says John Binks. “It’s a natural instinct to not see the worst in anyone - especially in our children. We need parents to think about the importance of actions that promote a healthy weight as a means of prevention in the same way they look at washing your hands, brushing your teeth and getting your vaccines.”

Is the economic crunch a factor?

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of Ontario families with children occasionally, or almost always, go without certain foods because of cost.

Half (48 percent) of all parents polled reported they at least occasionally have to go without buying particular types of food because of cost, with another 24 percent reporting this occurs almost every time they shop.

Rates ranged across the province, from a low of 52 percent in Southwestern Ontario to a high of 79 percent in Northern Ontario.

What are families going without?

The top three food categories were meat and poultry (reported by 32 percent of respondents), followed by fresh fruit and vegetables (28 percent) and dairy products (21 percent).

To continue reading this story, please click here