Is the Canadian childhood obesity epidemic related to physical activity?
The following is a summary of: C Tremblay and J D Willms Summary: This study examined the relationship among children’s physical activity, sedentary behaviours, and body mass index (BMI), while controlling for sex, family structure, and socioeconomic status. A representative sample of Canadian children aged 7-11 (N=7216) from the 1994 National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth was used in the analysis. Physical activity and sport participation, sedentary behaviour (video game use and TV/video watching), and BMI were measured by parental report. This study provides evidence supporting the link between physical inactivity and obesity of Canadian children. The findings were that both organized and unorganized sport and physical activity are negatively associated with being overweight (10-24% reduced risk) or obese (23-43% reduced risk), while TV watching and video game use are risk factors for being overweight (17-44% increased risk) or obese (10-61% increased risk). Physical acti
