The School of Education at Laurentian University hosted Mark Tremblay for a week in October 2011. Dr. Tremblay is a world-class expert in children’s physical activity and obesity research. The purpose of the visit was to mobilize knowledge regarding current physical activity and sedentary behavior guidelines, initiatives regarding children’s activity, and how health can be improved through physical activity. Mark spent 4 days in Sudbury, speaking to various groups including elementary, secondary and university students, secondary school Health and Physical Education program leaders and the general public. Local media covered Mark’s visit to Sudbury. After Mark’s visit, the information he presented to the various groups was gathered. Powerpoints from Mark’s public presentation, a newspaper clipping, and other information from his presentations were compiled and added to the School of Education website. All partners were sent an outline of the information on the website, and possible uses for this information.

Go North Presentations

Health and Physical Education Program Leaders

The presentation took place on October 24th, 2011 at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. Program leaders from 12 northeastern Ontario secondary schools attended the presentation in person as well as via video conference. The presentation was directed toward obesity and initiatives that are being taken to help address this health problem in schools. Twenty initiatives were discussed including the release of the new sedentary guidelines, nutrition labelling initiative, making prevention a priority and others directed toward getting kids more active and less sedentary.

Public Presentation

Mark Tremblay’s public presentation took place on the evening of the October 24th 2011. Approximately 60 guests attended the lecture which dealt with the issue of a progressively "obese" population, especially in children and youth. Using examples from his research, Dr. Tremblay demonstrated that Canadian children today are far less active than Canadian children 20-30 years ago, and are much less active than children in Kenya. Tremblay explored issues related to screen invasion (sedentary time spent in front of television and computers), and discussed the failing grade Canadian children receive on the Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card. The presentation closed with Mark’s "Top Ten solutions" for solving the obesity crisis.

Elementary Schools Presentations

Dr. Tremblay’s presentations to the elementary school students took place on the 23rd and 24th of October at Laurentian University and at schools in the Greater Sudbury area. The grade 3 to 6 students who attended were from Markstay Public School and Chelmsford Public School from the Rainbow District School Board, and St. David and St. James Catholic Schools from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. The presentation included specific information related to the Active Healthy Kids Report Card and how Canadian students have received a failing grade when it comes to physical activity levels. Mark explained different reasons as to why this is happening and then ended the presentation with 5 ideas that children can use to help them become more active throughout the day.

Secondary School Presentation

Students from 4 secondary schools attended a presentation on October 25th, 2011. The students are all enrolled in the Specialist High Skills Major (Health and Wellness) programs at their respective secondary schools. Childhood inactivity and obesity was the main topic of the presentation. Dr. Tremblay discussed why our society has become so inactive and overweight. Issues surrounding screen invasion, and sedentary lifestyles were the major topics explored. Mark then discussed his top ten solutions for a more active and less sedentary lifestyle. He also talked about various job opportunities available to students looking to pursue a career in the health field.

The Active Healthy Kids 2011 Report Card be downloaded here.