Healthy Kids Community Challenge aims to help kids get fit

Morning North8:12Healthy Kids Community Challenge in Sudbury

Helping kids get fit. The city of Greater Sudbury says it wants to do everything it can to make it easier for kids to live healthy lives. Kate Barber told us all about a new initiative from the city.

The city of Greater Sudbury says it will combat high obesity rates by making it easier for kids to get active.

The province is giving the city more than $1 million over the next three years to do this.

Sudbury is one of 45 communities to benefit from the province-wide "Healthy Kids Community Challenge."

The city employee heading up the project said the city will make it easier for people to use rinks and other facilities, offer free skating lessons, and even give kids sports equipment.

"We want parents to realize first how important it is that kids get the physical activity, that kids are outside," Kate Barber said.

"And they probably won't be if their families aren't doing it as well. So it's building those habits and that knowledge."

The city is also offering funding to any neighbourhood or community group that wants to plan an event that gets kids active.

It will be accepting applications starting Feb. 1.

Look at 'our environment'

The Sudbury and District Health Unit's chief medical officer said fighting obesity is about making it it easy for kids to live healthy lives.

"It's not just educating people," Penny Sutcliffe said.

"Eat your five veggies a day or get 'X' number of minutes of physical activity a day. It's time to look at our environment. About what can change in our environment to make following those recommendations easier."

Sutcliffe says that means leveling the playing field for all kids in the city, regardless of where they live or how much money they have.

The funding comes at a good time for kids like 11-year-old  Braedon Jeanveau, who loves playing road hockey outside.

"It would be awesome to have proper equipment to [use]. If you don't have the proper things then nobody is going to come," he said, adding the program sounds like "they're going to be ... helping kids around the community do more sports and outdoor activities."

For the kids who "just sit inside and do nothing," Jeanveau said,  "I think it would be very good. School is work. Outside with your friends is just so much fun to play."

Barber said that if families need skates and helmets to participate, "we'll make sure they get those. What we hope is that they'll learn to skate and they'll be able to skate in our outdoor rinks for the rest of their lives."

The effort to spark change in the way families play is "a big culture change … to make long-term change," Barber continued.

"We know sometimes the easy choice is the unhealthy choice right now."

Currently the city is launching three programs:

Sudbury skates

• Offer free 6 week learn to skate for aged 6-12 at three outdoor rinks
• New skates and helmets for free

Activate your neighbourhood

• Funding for a neighbourhood activity that will get kids 0-12 getting fit
• Neighbourhood groups get to organize the events
• Could be a skating party or family dance party in the gym, a snowshoe or hike
• The city will help by providing equipment, healthy snacks, help you book the facility
• People can start submitting ideas Feb 1

Healthy kids snow day

• Outdoor family fun out on Lake Ramsay
• Snow fort building and sliding hills
• First Nations traditional games
• Free transit to this event
• Skate exchange trailers, helmets