SACPA session addresses importance of childhood physical activity

By Toyin Obatusin - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on November 30, 2024.

Herald photo by Toyin Obatusin Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Lethbridge, Richard Larouche speaks about inactivity in children during Thursday's SACPA session.

Associate professor of Public Health at the University of Lethbridge Richard Larouche led this week’s Southern Alberta Council of Public Affairs session where he discussed the importance of physical activity for children.

The discussion was held in the dining room of the Lethbridge Senior Citizen Organization on Thursday.

All over the world, lack of physical activity is becoming a problem amongst the youths. It is recommended that children engage in 60 minutes of physical activity per day, yet statistics show 80 per cent are not meeting these expectations. The concern is that these children might contract diseases such as diabetes and cancers.

Two types of physical activities discussed and that are being received all over Canada, are being able to go from point A to point B safely using methods such as walking and cycling to get to and from places like a school or a park.

This is only beneficial for children who reside at a certain distance from their place of education or place of leisure. There were many comparisons made between kids whose parents could afford, for example, a massive backyard, or enough land that their children can walk long distances and play outside.

Children’s Independent Mobility (CIM), also known as a child’s freedom to roam about as they please, without adult supervision, is also described as their home range.

Research shows that a child who has more freedom to roam has 39 per cent lower odds of “having elevated distress” levels, said Larouche.

Because CIM has dropped over the last 50 years, there have been reports that because of inactivity, kids are experiencing symptoms of anxiety, depression and suicide.

Questions centred around whether different demographics affect CIM and stress levels in children, to which Larouche confirmed that yes, depending on the economic standings of the parents, you’ll notice a huge difference within the child as that may limit their CIM.

It came into question if research conducted put into hypothesis the effects and differences between parental-induced stress, versus mobility-induced stress, and if variables factored into results. Larouche acknowledged that although there is a difference between both of these concerns, he reiterated that “helicopter parents” can reduce the CIM of a child as there is no freedom to roam, and if there is freedom to roam, it becomes extremely limited due to the beliefs of the parent.

In his research, Larouche has found that children with greater CIM are more active. And he has explored how CIM related to parent-perceived distress during the COVID pandemic.