Losing ground in the battle of the bulge

Let's all turn back the clock to that mythical time when kids started the day doing chores before eating a healthy breakfast and then walking five kilometres to school – uphill, in a snowstorm. Back then, kids ended the day walking five kilometres home from school – again uphill – to do some more chores.

Over the course of that day, they'd eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables. There were no TVs, computers or video games to plop in front of. Vegging out meant pulling plants out of the field.

Fast forward to 1979. It's the beginning of what would turn out to be the 25-year-long Canadian Community Health Survey, which looked at obesity in children and adults.

At the beginning of the study, three per cent of children between the ages of two and 17 were considered obese. Among adults, the rate was 14 per cent.

Obesity rates were calculated using the body mass index (BMI), which is arrived at by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared. (See Body mass index)

At the end of the study in 2004, those rates were substantially higher. Among children, nine per cent were considered obese. Another 20 per cent were considered overweight, meaning that almost 30 per cent of youngsters were dealing with weight problems.

Among adults, the obesity rate soared to 23 per cent. Another 36 per cent were overweight. According to the study, almost 60 per cent of Canadian adults have weight problems.

The survey found that children and adolescents who reported eating fruits and vegetables five or more times a day were substantially less likely to be overweight or obese than those who consumed them less frequently. Forty-one per cent of children and adolescents reported they ate at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

Not surprisingly, the survey also found kids between the ages of six and 17 were more likely to be obese if they spent a lot of their spare time watching TV, playing video games or using the computer.

Meanwhile, another study found that Old Order Mennonite children tend to be fitter, stronger and leaner than other Canadian kids – even despite a lack of phys-ed classes or organized sports.

The children also don't have access to video games, computers and television. What they do have access to is up to 18 minutes more of moderate or vigorous physical activity per day compared to most other children.

They also have access to regular chores.

"They help out with things," said Dr. Mark Tremblay, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan who led the study. "Whether it's in the barn, or baling hay or milking cows. They walk or bicycle to and from school."

The study found that the traditional Mennonite lifestyle translates into burning an extra 15,000 kilocalories per year, or over 40 pounds of fat per person, per decade.

"This research gives us a unique glimpse into the past that may help to explain the rising rates of obesity over the past few decades," said Lisa Sullivan, manager of research and policy at the non-profit Canadian Population Health Initiative, which funded the study.

The health consequences of excess weight are well known. It's a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, some cancers and gallbladder disease.

As part of its Healthy Children Healthy Futures child health initiative, the Strang Cancer Prevention Center in New York City has come up with its eight habits of healthy kids.

They are:

• Spend at least one hour a day being physically active.
• Spend less than two hours a day watching TV and playing video and computer games.
• Eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day.
• Snack more on healthy foods and less on junk foods and sweets.
• Drink or eat at least three low fat dairy foods a day.
• Drink at least two glasses/bottles of water a day instead of soft drinks.
• Eat less fast food (no more than twice a week) and make healthier fast food choices.
• Eat smaller portions.

Health Canada's Family Guide to Physical Activity for children lays out two goals:

• Increase the time currently spent on physical activity by a total of at least 30 minutes per day.
• Reduce "non-active" time spent on TV, video, computer games and surfing the internet, starting with at least 30 minutes less per day.

The guide suggests that increasing physical activity by 30 minutes a day is a lot easier than it sounds. It can be done in bouts as short as five or 10 minutes each.

The gradual but steady approach was highlighted by yet another study. This one – from the University of Colorado at Boulder – found that gentle strolling may help obese people burn more calories per mile than brisk walking. It also may lower the risk of arthritis and injuries to the joints compared to walking quickly.

Conventional wisdom says to get into shape, you need at least five brisk walks of 30 minutes or longer per week. The researchers found that many obese people find that too difficult. Slow walking, the study said, might be a way to burn a few extra calories a week.

The key is to get people moving.