Kids chew the fat with MLAs on fat
Lena Sin, The Province
Published: Wednesday, October 18, 2006

The youngest group to ever testify before members of the legislative assembly wasted no time yesterday in telling government exactly what it needs to do to start curbing obesity among kids.

"First of all, I think you should get the teachers and parents more involved in our food choices," 10-year-old Janahan Pathamanathan told the MLAs. "You could provide more programs that educate kids on a healthy lifestyle like creating fun and active programs that will keep kids interested in staying fit.

"Next, instead of selling chips and pop in vending machines, sell healthy products like milk."

But Pathamanathan's advice didn't stop there. Cutting the cost of playing sports and jacking up the price of junk food were also some of the solutions hatched by the 10- and nine-year-olds in his class.

Pathamanathan was among a group of students who gathered at Charles Tupper Secondary in east Vancouver yesterday to present ideas to the provincial government on how to get children to adapt to healthier lifestyles.

The 10 MLAs who make up the Select Standing Committee on Health were in attendance. They are to report back to Victoria with a list of recommendations by the end of November.

With obesity rates at an all-time high across Canada for both adults and kids, Victoria decided to undertake consultations on how to tackle childhood obesity. Obesity rates for children and youths aged two to 17 nearly tripled from three to eight per cent between 1978 and 2004, according to a 2005 Statistics Canada survey.

In 2004, 26 per cent of Canadian kids were overweight or obese, compared to just 15 per cent in 1978-79 -- a 70-per-cent increase.

Nine-year-old Isabelle Tupas asked the government for longer recesses.

"And make it more safe to play outside," she added.

Cariboo South NDP MLA Charlie Wyse said the students presented a different view from other stakeholders in the consultation.

"It came across to me from the students that the cost of health was clearly a barrier," he said. "Junk foods are much cheaper than healthy foods and likewise many of the exercise programs had a cost attached to them and those two barriers came across to me as being very important for students to get involved in healthy lifestyles."

lsin@png.canwest.com