Happy National Health and Fitness Day!! Every year on the first Saturday in June, we celebrate NHFD! So what is it all about!
In 2014 the national health and fitness day act was passed! This bill creates a strong momentum towards bringing communities together to the highlight the importance of health and fitness in Canada. The goal is to make Canada the 'Fittest Nation on Earth'!
But... we currently are not the fittest nation on earth! :(
We are actually less fit than our 1981 counterparts! That's both kids and adults! Only 15% of Canadian adults and 7% of Canadian children and youth get the recommended amount of physical activity as put out by the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. There is good news; 84% of 3-4 year olds do get the recommended amount of physical activity!
Us adults, are spending 9.5 hours per day being sedentary and kids and youth are sedentary about 8.5 hours per day! Yes, a large part of that time is during work or school time but not all. The key to find those small opportunities move.
So what is recommended? What are the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines?
For ages 0-4 years it is recommended at least 180min of physical activity of any intensity per day.
For ages 5-17 years, it is recommended at least 60min of moderate to vigorous intensity per day.
For everyone over 18 years, it is recommended at least 150min of moderate to vigorous activity per week - that works out to be about 20min per day.
We want to think about including both muscle and bone strengthening activities as well as cardiovascular activity. Just remember, we don't have to do the full recommended amount in one bout of time. Break it up throughout the day in 10min bouts!
You can see the full guidelines for all the age groups at www.csepguidelines.ca
Check out my next blog post to learn more about the guidelines, the benefits of exercise and how your can incorporate movement into your life!
To celebrate NHFD, I was live on Facebook and Instagram through the day with movements classes and a talk. Check them out!
Use code NHFD25 to get 25% off any LifeStretch Class in June!
Carrie Doll Kinesiology: Providing in-home and online exercise prescriptions to Kitchener, Waterloo, Elmira, St.Jacobs, Conestoga and area.
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