No Time to Wait: The Health Kids Strategy - Ontario

3. Create Healthy CommunitiesRationaleParents told us that, in addition to ahealthier food environment, they want helpencouraging their kids to be more active andengaged in their communities. The foodstrategies the panel has recommended willbe most effective when they are integratedwith broader, community-driven efforts toraise healthy kids. Just as kids need accessto healthy foods, they need opportunities toplay, spend time with friends and family, andto learn how to manage stress.We also focus on the support and treatmentneeds of children and youth strugglingwith unhealthy weights, and on the mentalhealth and resilience required for kids to behealthy. As much as possible, we must buildon or leverage existing programs, servicesand providers.The need for social changeAs parents pointed out, our problems withfood are part of larger social trends: a timestressedculture that – in just a couple ofgenerations: has completely changed eatinghabits and activity levels; is coping withunprecedented technological advances; feelsrushed, tired and socially disconnected;worries about financial stability and incomedisparities; and is experiencing high ratesof mental health problems. To help parentsraise healthy kids, we need social change.We need supportive communities thatpromote and protect health, and helpfamilies find balance in their lives.Ontario has significant experience inachieving social change – particularly foryoung people. Only 7.4 per cent of teenagersaged 12 to 18 smoke in Ontario today –compared to 13.1 per cent in 2000/01. 144Children and youth who enjoy good mental healthrespond better to life’s challenges and make healthierchoices. We can foster children’s resilience by focusingon positive relationships, experiences and innerstrengths such as values, skills and commitments.We can create a strong sense of belonging at home,in school and in communities; build on children’sstrengths and competency; and encourage theirautonomy and ability to make decisions that willenhance their health and well-being.We have almost universal compliancewith seatbelt laws. We have successfullyintroduced recycling programs. We haveintroduced graduated licensing andimproved driver training, which hassignificantly reduced car accidents involvingyoung drivers. It is no longer the norm inOntario to smoke or to drink and drive.The province is now actively engaged inprograms to reduce bullying and improvechildren’s mental health. We are skilled atusing social marketing – a combination ofeducation, marketing, policy, programs,legislation, structural change and othertools or techniques – designed to changeattitudes and encourage Ontarians to dothings that are good for them and for theircommunities. We must apply those skills toimprove child health and tackle unhealthyweights.Technology has been blamed forcontributing to obesity, but it can also beused to promote health: to nudge peopleto make healthier choices. For example,the Surgeon General in the U.S. used theHealthy Apps Challenge to encouragedevelopers to use innovative technologiesto provide tailored health informationand empower people to engage in healthpromoting behaviours related to physicalactivity, healthy eating, and physical, mental144 Canadian Community Health Survey 2000/01, Statistics Canada and Canadian Community Health Survey 2009, Statistics Canada.38