![]() The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) announces the world’s first 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (5-17 years) released in the 2016 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth (release here). The new Canadian Guidelines: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep are the first evidence-based guidelines to address the whole day. Academic papers explaining the novel approach to the new guidelines are available in a special supplementary issue of CSEP’s official journal, Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism (APNM). Research strongly shows the need for a new movement paradigm that emphasizes the integration of all movement behaviours occurring over a whole day, shifting the focus from the individual components to emphasize the whole (all physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep). |
For optimal health benefits, children and youth (aged 5–17 years) should achieve high levels of physical activity, low levels of sedentary behaviour, and sufficient sleep each day. A healthy 24 hours includes:
Preserving sufficient sleep, trading indoor time for outdoor time, and replacing sedentary behaviours and light physical activity with additional moderate to vigorous physical activity can provide greater health benefits.