Are we driving our kids to unhealthy habits?
With only five per cent of five to 17 year olds meeting the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for healthy development, your choice to walk or wheel with your children to get to destinations can significantly contribute to their overall health.
Children who use active transportation to get to and from school (and other nearby locations) can accumulate up to 45 more minutes daily of moderate to vigorously intense physical activity compared to kids who get to school via car or bus, not to mention the positive impact on our air quality.
So start the day off with a stroll or ride and join others across the globe during International Walk to School Week Oct. 6-10.
Research shows that physical activity increases attention span and academic success in children, not to mention making them happier and healthier.
Walking and cycling also cuts down on the emissions produced by driving, improving air quality and making school zones safer by reducing speed and traffic congestion.
Motor vehicles create more air pollution than any other single activity, and in Williams Lake vehicle exhaust is a contributor to the particulate matter that detrimentally affects our air quality.
Children are more vulnerable than adults to health impairments from air pollution like asthma and other respiratory illnesses because children breathe faster, inhale more air per kilogram of body weight, and have developing organs and immune systems. For more information check out the Williams Lake Air Quality Roundtable website at www.breatheasywilliamslake.org.