Thank you, Mr. Chairman and esteemed members of Parliament.
On behalf of the Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, I am pleased to be here to address the issue relating to the mounting childhood obesity rates and the critical role of quality physical and health education programs in assisting to curb the obesity epidemic.
A main theme of my presentation will be the recommendation to the federal government of the need to endorse and support the provision of quality physical and health education programs to ensure that all children have the opportunity to develop fundamental skills, knowledge, and attitudes that they require to make healthy lifestyle choices and to be physically active now and throughout their lives.
CAPHERD is a national charitable voluntary sector organization whose primary concern is to influence the healthy development of children and youth through quality school-based health and physical education programs. We were formed in 1933, and CAPHERD's programs and initiatives have been branded in schools across Canada and have been used as models internationally.
CAPHERD has a comprehensive delivery system that includes provincial affiliates in each province, as well as a database to every school, school board, university, and ministry of education in Canada. In addition, CAPHERD has a very strong partnership base, with many provincial and national organizations mandated to improve the health and well-being of Canadians through healthy living and physical activity.
Mr. Chairman and esteemed members of Parliament, I am well aware that many other individuals have come before you to discuss the very critical issue of childhood obesity. With that, I'm very certain that you have heard many statistics and reports that indicate that we are living in the midst of a very grave epidemic that, if left unaddressed, will worsen beyond our expectations. For example: in the past 15 years the occurrence of overweight boys has increased by 92% and the occurrence of overweight girls has increased by 57%; only 43% of children and youth age 5 to 17 years of age are not active enough to meet optimal growth and development; and most alarmingly, our children stand to live a shorter lifespan than we do.
Clearly, action must be taken now to impede this obesity and physical inactivity epidemic before it erodes further and has an even more devastating impact on the Canadian health care system. We already know that Canadians spent $5.3 billion in 2001 on health care costs due to illnesses, injuries, and diseases associated with physical inactivity. As this epidemic grows, so too will the cost to our health care system.
CAPHERD strongly believes that physical and health education are critical health interventions that need to be addressed. Although education is a provincial jurisdiction, health is a federal priority. There is no denying the critical role of school physical education and health education in ensuring that every single child in Canada has the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills that they need to be physically active now and for life. This includes physical literacy, healthy eating, and the knowledge that they need to make healthy lifestyle choices.
There is strong international support for the importance of physical education. The World Health Organization and the United Nations have both recognized the integral role of physical education to achieving health. Recently the United Nations declared 2005 as the international year of sport and physical education, to raise awareness of the critical role it plays in the healthy development of children. The UN's Report on the International Year of Sport and Physical Education 2005: Sport for a Better World indicates that:
Education is a fundamental human right provided for in almost all international human rights treaties. Furthermore, in accordance with the declarations of various international human rights treaties, sport and Physical Education are also fundamental rights for all.
It is important to say that children are not born physically literate. They must develop skills sequentially. Physical literacy is cultivated through states that build on a foundation of motor skills and knowledge. These skills continue to develop and form the basis for specific physical activities and sports. When this fundamental learning is not provided, children lack basic movement skills as well as the understanding of the importance and practice of being physically active each and every day.
The need for the development of fundamental movement skills learned sequentially has been clearly identified in the long-term athlete development model that has been developed by Sport Canada. The LTAD identifies seven key stages a person must go through in order to nurture athlete development, as well as to lead physically active lifestyles. The first three phases of that model--active start, fundamentals, and learn to train--specifically emphasize the critical role of quality physical education in ensuring that this foundation is established. Without such learning, all future stages of the LTAD will be negatively affected.
The reality in Canadian schools today is that quality health and physical education programs are extremely lacking. Currently, provincial and territorial ministries of education have outlined and recommended times for physical and health education, with general outcome statements by each grade. These suggested times are not mandatory; thus, school boards and individual schools are not bound to meet these targets. In reality, schools in many provinces do not come close to providing Canadian children with the recommended times for physical education.
Often viewed as frilly subject areas, physical and health education programs have fallen victim to budget restraints and competing priorities within the school curriculum. Over the last two decades, Canadian schools have seen reduced time allotted to physical education and a move from specialist physical educators to generalist teachers who lack the skills and training required to deliver quality programs.
It is important to recognize that assigning time for physical and health education does not have a detrimental impact on students' grades. Quite to the contrary--participation in quality physical education has been linked to enhanced student academic performance and has been shown to improve social cohesion at school and to enhance concentration and to improve student self-esteem and self-confidence. Moreover, children benefit from physical education classes by developing personal physical fitness, which promotes healthy lifestyles—a foundation of skills that ensures their ability to participate in a wide variety of physical activities, and which reinforces life-long healthy living.
ln this era of childhood obesity stemming from unhealthy eating and physical inactivity, the poor quality of school health and physical education programs is of extreme concern. Statistics are cropping up on a daily basis reminding us of the grave health epidemic we are facing, yet funding and federal support for health interventions seem to diminish.
More federal action is going to be needed in order to improve the overall health of Canadian children. To assist schools in setting priorities and implementing opportunities for change, CAHPERD has set national standards that define quality physical education. These standards include 150 minutes per week of quality physical education, taught by a teacher who is qualified to teach the subject, a variety of learning opportunities, and are supplemented by a range of interscholastic and intramural program opportunities.
There is an obvious and undeniable correlation between obesity and inactivity. Quality physical and health education programs work to enable and encourage participation in physical activities and equip students with the ability and knowledge to make healthy choices.
Ensuring the overall wellness of Canadian children is a serious matter. As can be seen through the committee's attention to childhood obesity, the health of Canadian children is of fundamental importance to the Government of Canada and to the distinguished members of the committee. There have been a number of instances in the past when the federal government took positions on provincial education matters, including implementation of the metric system and on the French language. We implore you to recognize that ensuring the health of our children merits federal attention. More than ever, it is vital that the federal government and this committee endorse the need for quality physical and health education in schools, and that they go further to take a leadership role in ensuring that all schools across Canada are able to meet or exceed recommended provincial and territorial times.
During the 2005-2006 federal election campaign, the Conservative Party's platform, “Stand Up for Canada”, indicated that “The most important part of health care is prevention, including ensuring that Canadians, especially children, have proper diet and exercise”, and stated that a Conservative government would promote a wellness and physical fitness agenda to help Canadians and their children stay fit and healthy and committed to spending at least one percent of total federal health funding annually on physical activity. That translates into $435 million invested annually in sport and physical activity initiatives.
CAHPERD encourages the honourable members of this committee to work towards achieving this momentous victory for the future health and well-being of Canadians, and so ensure that Canadian schools are equipped to provide the best possible opportunity for all children to become both physically and health literate. Schools are the only public institution with the ability to reach every child in Canada, regardless of culture, socio-economic background, ability, or gender. Schools are clearly the most important institution to offer equal access to health and physical activity programs.
Honourable members, physical and health education needs to be valued and implemented as a core school subject area in order to offer its full potential and to play a role in combating childhood obesity.
I have left you with two important documents, Time to Move, and What is the Relationship Between Physical Education and Physical Activity?
I would like to say thank you once again for allowing us to speak.