Borough weighs in on child obesity

The borough of Pierrefonds/Roxboro joined the Quebec Coalition to Fight Obesity but won’t have programs ready for at least six months.

The borough decided to support the organization aiming at fixing the weight problem during its last council meeting on Aug. 4. The decision came after the City of Montreal became a partner earlier this year.

The Quebec Coalition to Fight Obesity is a group geared towards solving weight problems at large by encouraging initiatives such as getting rid of junk food in schools, introducing a tax to fund obesity prevention initiatives, promote biking to school, creating more parks and limiting advertising toward kids.

The borough has no immediate plans to launch any projects the association proposes. “(Launching programs) will be done over a period of time,” said Pierrefonds/Roxboro mayor Monique Worth. “Anything we initiate will be voluntary; we won’t force anyone to take part in any programs if they don’t want to.”

The first step borough council is planning on taking will be hiring a nutritionist to visit schools and spread awareness about good health, according to the director of culture, sports, recreation and social development Gerald Robertson.

However, the Lester B. Pearson School Board, with 41 elementary schools and 12 high schools, already has an extensive nutrition program. “It’s a major focus of the school board,” said Pearson chairman Marcus Tabachnick. “We have a whole department with extensive policies, and we put a big emphasis on healthy eating and healthy choices for our elementary and high schools. “We have a great working relationship with Pierrefonds. I’m sure if they want to sit down and talk we can come to an agreement,” he added.

While the borough organizes its plan of action, community members have noticed a difference in the children’s energy level. “It is a major problem that many children are watching TV and are on their computers all the time,” said Sergio Arione, founder of the Tai Chi Centre in Roxboro. “I can see kids having a good time and be eager to do physical activity. It brings up their confidence level, and when that happens they have fewer problems at school with bullies.”

Arione is not the only one to have seen a change in children’s behaviour.

At a Pierrefonds day camp with 1,160 registered campers and 90 councillors, Magic Dubois in his 10th year has also observed a drop in the children’s liveliness. “Its true kids are less active than they used to be, they have more to keep them occupied and you have to push them more into (activities),” Dubois said. “But a lot of kids are still active; our sports camp is as big as ever.”

At the YMCA day camp catering to kids across the West Island, a difference has been noted too. “I haven’t noticed a difference size wise, but activity wise, yes,” said camp co-ordinator Andrew Borrelli. “It’s a combination of things [why kids are less active], everyone tries to pack so much in one day, and people forget the important things like health.”

The YMCA has taken their own initiative by holding ‘Healthy Kids Day’ earlier in the year to show children ‘what it means to be healthy,’ an event Borelli said is getting more popular every year. And Arione believes the borough can do a lot by subsidizing for equipment, but is ‘happy with the direction the council has taken.’