Canadian pollsters prove that parents are not living in the real world, at least not when it comes to their kids’ health.

A new Canadian poll shows that only 9% of parents “think” their children are fat, when in reality 26% of Canadian children are obese or overweight according to standards. The main reason for 1 in 3 kids being overweight – today’s kids are spending more time in front of the television or playing computer games than enjoying outdoor physical activities. 

And it is not just the “fat ones” that are couch potatoes.  There is another subsection to today’s unhealthy kids who are considered to be of “acceptable” body weights but are similarly at health risks by being sedentary.  Any child without the enough physical activity and participation in weight bearing exercises are at risk for impaired skeletal growth and development.

Another discrepancy indicating that parents should remove their “rose coloured glasses” when it comes to looking at their own kids is that while 40% of adults felt their own children should receive top marks for their overall health, when asked their opinion of kids as a whole - only 6% of kids were given an “A” rating.

With so much information out there on kids’ health and nutrition – Canada’s Food Guides to Healthy Eating, Healthy Ontario’s Nutrition resource, among others – there is no reason for our kids to be doomed to a life plagued by health issues caused by obesity and lack of physical health.