Young and Active Round Table

A round-table discussion on improving physical activity opportunities for young people in Nova Scotia will be held Thursday, Sept. 30, at the Westin Nova Scotian Hotel, 1181 Hollis St., in Halifax.

The discussion, titled Young and Active, is hosted by six government departments and Recreation Nova Scotia.

"When 70 per cent of our children are not active enough to receive health benefits, we have to find out why, and what we can do to bring about a significant change," said Tony Martin, deputy head of the Sport and Recreation Commission. "The government is trying to find ways for young people to be more active on a regular basis."

Leading off the day's discussion will be keynote speaker Dr. Mark Tremblay, a pediatric exercise science specialist from the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick. Following Dr. Tremblay's address, participants will be asked to share their success stories. In the afternoon, students from a Grade 11 class at J. L. Ilsley High School and a Grade 9 class at Gorsebrook Junior High School will present their perspectives on what they think will help them be more active. The remainder of the day's discussion will focus on action planning and evaluation.

The one-day discussion is another step in the provincial government's commitment to the federal/provincial/territorial initiative to reduce the number of inactive Canadians by 10 per cent by the year 2003. In Nova Scotia, in the belief that lifetime habits are developed in the early years, a Physically Active Children and Youth Committee was formed with the goal of improving opportunities for young people to be physically active.

Committee representatives are from the departments of Health, Education, Community Services and Justice, the Youth Secretariat, and the Sport and Recreation Commission, which serves as chair. The committee's purpose is to develop a co-ordinated provincial strategy to increase the number of children and youth who are physically active enough to receive health benefits by 2003.