The Grey-Bruce chapter of the Heart and Stroke Foundation is particularly concerned with the results of a recent survey.
The survey shows that 8 out of 10 Canadian adults know that eating healthy and getting active can help prevent, postpone or treat heart disease and stroke, but over 40 per cent say they don’t have time for regular exercise.
Local spokesperson Jason Hoffman says that’s especially concerning in Grey-Bruce, where 29 per cent of children are obese and there are 12 year olds with high blood pressure.
The provincial childhood obesity rate is at 24 per cent.
Hoffman says it starts with adults setting a good example, and managing their time better.
He says an overwhelming portion of people say they spend two hours per day watching television.
And he points out that not all exercise has to be aggressive — it can be something as simple as gardening or going for short walks.
Hoffman says you can also make physical activity a family event by walking together to the park to go play, or taking advantage of free skating.
He realizes that putting kids into organized sports can be expensive, so it’s important to look at other ways we can get the kids back outside to play after they come home from school.
