Canadian Paediatric Society

Healthy active living: Physical activity guidelines for children and adolescents

Posted: Apr 1, 2012

Health care practitioners are ideally suited to monitor children, adolescents and their families’ physical activity levels, to evaluate lifestyle choices and to offer counseling. This statement presents guidelines for reducing sedentary time and increasing physical activity levels in the paediatric population, developmentally appropriate physical activity recommendations for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, children and adolescents, and advocacy strategies for promoting healthy active living; suggests the health professional’s role in clinical care and advocacy; and concludes with the need for active management to overcome barriers to healthy active living. A sample physician strategy for a family ready to begin physical activity is a written personal physical activity ‘prescription’ for posting in the home.