recognised with loyalty awards. But we were then reminded that whilst the program is intended to be fun, social and educational - getting kids up and moving - the root reason for the program is a little more serious. Childhood activity levels continue to decline, electronic device use is on the increase and the risk of early onset chronic disease will become more prevalent if we don’t try to buck these trends by getting kids to move more each day. We now understand that an active childhood is not the norm as it was in previous generations. The key message for us all at the launch was that the Active Kids Challenge was owned by us all, but only cared for by the Foundation. The content of the program is directly influenced by the ideas and feedback of community members and teachers to make sure it has an impact in the right way. The survival of the program also relies on ongoing community funding support to match a government contribution.
ACTIVE KIDS - Are we really up to the Challenge?
Each day, we are bombarded with a new health report telling us the health record of Australians is changing. The stand out one is our obesity rates that are increasing. Our men now rate as second in the obesity stakes around the world. Our women are trailing along in sixth place but neither race is one we want or need to win. Sadly, we are not just taking on this challenge in the adult events. We also have a junior development program in place and we have the next generation following us. They are influenced by our ‘adult’ training routine and dietary schedule to become the future champions in the obesity competition as well. This is not good enough and we need to turn it around. Therein is the challenge for us all. As adults, we are role models. Little ‘mini me’ watches all we do and copies. We are the ones directly responsible for the choices made about our child’s activity levels and the food they eat. As the responsible adults, we are the only ones that can change this trend. We cannot pass the baton onto someone else – our government, our local medicos, our talented teachers – and expect them to make the difference for us. It’s time for our ‘all care but no responsibility’ attitude to be discarded so we can ensure the best future health outcomes for our children. Our record breaking trend in the obesity stakes has taken some years to achieve. So too will the road back to better health outcomes. Anything of value takes time. Just ask 28
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our true skilled athletes, continual improvement is the best way to achieve long term success. Here in Canberra, the Active Kids Challenge has been incrementally improving its spread into local primary schools in Term 3 to do its bit to reverse this trend. Now in 70% of local schools, it offers fun and entertaining resources directly into classrooms to teach students about healthy lifestyle habits right from Kindergarten. Hosted by the Physical Activity Foundation, the program supports teachers to do their part with themed ‘healthy’ weeks of activities, competitions and challenges and rewards for the kids and schools that participate. Last month at Kaleen Sports Club, the new home base of the Physical Activity Foundation, the 2013 Active Kids Challenge was officially launched. In the room was an important mix of people – the patron of the Foundation Andrew Barr MLA, representatives from participating schools, program sponsors and partners (such as PLAY magazine), government representatives and local sports representatives, all wanting to be a part of the action. It was a feel good environment with the schools who have participated in the program since its start in 2008 being
We were all encouraged to make a connection with the program – a serious contribution not just lip service. The sports representatives in the room immediately saw the connection with their business. Active Kids might be a simple catch cry we all understand but a collective voice will be needed to have the message really stand out and be listened to. Program links between the Active Kids Challenge and local sports just makes sense and the quick ones are already lining up to be a partner in the program. Committing to anything always has its risk. Becoming personally involved is also daunting for many of us. But do we really have a choice? We are well on track to becoming gold medallists in the obesity race. And with that award comes a staggering health bill, a poorer quality of life for our children and a greater spiral of inactivity that will be even harder to reverse. The Active Kids Challenge is not the only solution to the problem but it is a good start. The hard work is done in developing the program, now it is up to us all to maintain and grow it to respond to the deadly health crisis our children face. We can no longer ignore the health statistics. Nor can we block out the emotional and physical toll felt by those that are counted in them. Apathy needs to be a thing of the past. However, if the Active Kids Challenge doesn’t survive due to it, maybe we should not be too disheartened. Our gold medal performances in the obesity race will not be far behind!
Play your part by contacting Sue Marriage, CEO of the Physical Activity Foundation at soulrevival@live.com.au or mobile 0417 445 052. Issue #24 JUNE 2013