Keeping kids active: Top fitness programs for kids

Northwest Territories: Mackenzie River Youth Trip
The great outdoors can be a lifeline to physical and mental health for students in the Northwest Territories. But many northern students can't participate in organized activities due to long distances between communities. The Mackenzie River Youth Trip promises to change that. Each year, the Northwest Territories Recreation and Parks Association organizes an all-expenses-paid excursion for a group of secondary school  students, each year choosing a different school and grade. This past summer, it was students in the tiny community of Tulita, about 1,000 kilometres west of Yellowknife, who took part in the trip. For just over two weeks, they canoed down the Mackenzie River and hiked up tributaries. It was a great experience for these kids. It was "empowering" says Wendy Lahey, the Active Living Coordinator of the N.W.T. Recreation and Parks Association.

Manitoba: Dance Dance Revolution
There's a dance revolution brewing in Manitoba. Students at Shoal Lake School, about three hours west of Winnipeg, are playing Dance Dance Revolution, a video game that has players stand on a square mat with arrows on the screen scrolling to the beat of a variety of songs. The player follows the screen and stomps on the corresponding arrow on his or her mat while moving to the beat of the music.

Previous dance programs that did not have the same technological element weren't as effective with the senior students, says Joyce Tully, phys-ed teacher at Shoal Lake. "The older kids love it, and are keen on helping some of the younger students do it," says Tully. Along with the benefits of physical activity, the game has instilled leadership in students who organize tournaments, says Tully. She adds that she has seen an increase in activity time, which is beneficial in the big picture. "It makes students feel good about moving, and that's a long-term goal: to feel good about being active."

British Columbia: Healthy Buddies
A powerful bond is developing between older and younger students in British Columbia. As part of the Healthy Buddies program, older kids teach younger ones about the lifelong benefits of keeping physically active, eating well and having a positive self-image. Created by teachers and health-care professionals, the program typically pairs a student in grade 4 to 7 with a student in kindergarten or in grade 1 to 3. The older students receive a lesson on healthy living from their teacher, then pass on what they've learned to their younger chums. "The older students have this incredible feeling of empowerment," says Valerie Ryden, a phys-ed teacher and coauthor of the project.

The initial pilot was so successful that its findings were published in the prestigious journal Pediatrics. The journal reported lower body mass indexes in the older students compared to controls and an increase in health knowledge, behaviour and attitude scores among participating students. The close bonds created beween older and younger kids was an unexpected bonus, says Ryden. "We didn't think ahead to how powerful those connections were going to be outside of the classroom." She has heard that students are making more connections on the playgrounds. In B.C., more than 40 schools offer the program, with other provinces not far behind.
by Amberly McAteer

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