Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position stand: Benefit and risk for promoting childhood physical activity

Abstract

Current guidelines recommend children accumulate 60 min of daily physical activity; however, highly publicized sudden-death events among young athletes raise questions regarding activity safety. An expert group convened (June 2012) to consider the safety of promoting increased physical activity for children, and recommended the publication of an evidence-based statement of current knowledge regarding the benefits and risks of physical activity for children. Recommendations for encouraging physical activity while maximizing the opportunity to identify children who have been prescribed a physical activity restriction include (1) professionals and (or) researchers that encourage children to change the type of physical activity or to increase the frequency, intensity, or duration of their activity should inquire whether a child has primary healthcare provider-prescribed activity limitations before the child’s activity participation changes; (2) physical activity researchers should prioritize the development of evidence regarding the benefits and risks of childhood physical activity and inactivity, particularly data on the risks of sedentary lifestyles and physical activity-associated injury risks that accounts for the amount of activity performed, and the effectiveness of current risk-management strategies and screening approaches; (3) professionals and researchers should prioritize the dissemination of information regarding the benefits of physical activity and the risks of sedentary behaviour in children; and (4) parents and professionals should encourage all children to accumulate at least 60 min of physical activity daily. The recommendations are established as a minimum acceptable standard that is applicable to all physical activity opportunities organized for children, whether those opportunities occur in a community, school, or research setting.