Heading to the park can be an affordable way for families to increase their physical activity levels. (Toby Talbot/AP Photo)Fewer children are eating the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables compared with 10 years ago, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

The group released a report on Wednesday based on a survey of 1,189 parents with children ages six to 12. The survey asked about children's diet and exercise habits.

Parents need to be frank with themselves about whether their children are overweight or obese since serious health issues can result, said Dr. Marco Di Buono, the group's director of research.

"We now know that kids who are overweight or obese have higher than normal cholesterol levels for their age," Di Buono said. "Their arteries may be blocked to the same degree as adult males in their 50s, and their blood pressure is also not at a healthy level."

Despite mandatory nutrition labelling and a new edition of Canada's Food Guide, eating habits haven't improved, the group said.

A decade ago, one in five, or 20 per cent, of the parents surveyed said their children ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily, the minimum recommendation. By 2009, the prevalence dropped by a third, to one in eight, or 13 per cent, a finding the group called surprising.

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In 1998, 66 per cent of those surveyed said their child was physically active three or more times per week during the winter. This year, the figure was 57 per cent. During summer, 88 per cent of parents said their children were physically active.

The proportion who reported eating junk food such as potato chips, french fries, candy or chocolate no more than twice a week stayed the same at 75 per cent.

As a first step, parents should learn what it means to eat healthy and how often their children should be physically active, Di Buono suggested.

Nearly one out of four parents reported their children eat junk food like fries three or more times a week. (Carlos Osorio/Associated Press)Parents can't do it alone. The food industry and grocers need to continue to make foods healthier and readily available. Schools could also do their part — by teaching what a protein is in home economics classes, for example. Communities need to be safe to encourage people to exercise, Di Buono said.

The results show the need to reinforce the importance of physical activity throughout the year, Di Buono said, noting that perhaps the Greater Toronto Area could learn from northern Ontario, where parents reported more physical activity during wintertime.

The activity doesn't have to be expensive or structured as a team sport. Simply bundling up and going for a walk or playing at a snow-filled park helps, he said.

"It's important to get our kids to have fun without a computer and without a television," agreed Rosanne Palmer, as she watched her four-year-old daughter play at a park in downtown Ottawa.

It's a natural instinct for parents not to see the worst in their children, said Dr. Sean Wharton, a Heart and Stroke Foundation medical adviser and obesity expert, but parents often tend to underestimate their children's junk food consumption and overestimate physical activity levels.

A 2008 study by Statistics Canada for example found 33 per cent of children reported more use of computer and video games than their parents did, and 34 per cent of children also reported watching more TV than their parents said they did.

Behaviour	Proportion of parents who report their children do said behaviour
	Greater Toronto Area	Western Ontario	Eastern Ontario	Northern Ontario
Eating 5+ servings fruit & vegetables/day	7%	13%	19%	7%
Eating whole grains	46%	49%	55%	54%
Eating junk food less than 3 times/week	71%	78%	79%	83%
Physically active during winter	50%	60%	70%	50%

Parents need to think about the importance of promoting a healthy weight as a means of prevention the same way handwashing or brushing your teeth are considered, Wharton said.

The report's authors also found that children in Toronto and the surrounding area appeared to be less likely to eat five or more fruits and vegetables a day or whole grains, with almost 70 per cent of parents saying they almost always or occasionally go without some types of food because of cost.

Rates on going without foods such as meat, fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy products ranged across the province. In Southwestern Ontario, 52 per cent of parents reported they almost always or occasionally go without these foods while in Northern Ontario, 79 per cent said they went without.

To that end, the foundation has created a fund to provide financial support to community groups advocating heart-healthy opportunities for children in Ontario, such as helping citizens to advocate for municipalities to build a playing field instead of a drive-through fast food outlet.

The 1998 survey polled a national sample of 424 parents of children ages six to 12. The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Results of this year's survey are considered accurate within plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, with the exception of the survey of physical activity, where the margin of error is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The general findings can be extended to other provinces since studies suggest that diet and exercise results in Ontario are close to the national average, Di Buono said.