By JONATHON HOWARD
PRIMARY school-aged children from Noosaville State School took steps towards a healthier future on Friday 23 May by taking part in the National Walk Safely to School Day.
The Walk Safely to School Day initiative aims to raise awareness for the health, road safety, transport and environmental benefits of walking.
The annual event, now in its 15th year, encourages primary school-aged children to walk to and from school – not just on Friday but every day.
Parents Astrid King and Leanne Castro said they try to keep their kids active all year round.
“If the weather’s OK, we try and walk to school every day,” Ms Castro said.
“It’s great exercise and you can avoid the traffic.”
Ms Castro said it was often difficult to pry kids away from the many distractions including the internet, iPads and television.
“I don’t allow any use of iPads or other internet access during the week – unless as a special treat,” she said.
Hundreds of students and parents took part in the walk across Noosa and the Sunshine Coast to encourage active and healthy kids.
Plea to help cut the fat
THE chairman and CEO of the Pedestrian Council of Australia Harold Scruby said unless the Noosa community gets behind the Walk to School initiative the health outlook for local children is not good.
“The childhood obesity epidemic has reached such critical levels in Australia, that one in four children are now overweight or obese,” he said.
“Unless there are significant changes to physical activity and diet, this is expected to reach one in three by 2020.
“Children require at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity – and regular walking is the best exercise for all of us.”
Children are encouraged to lead a more active lifestyle by including a walk at the beginning, during and end of each day.
The event also promotes improved diets, positive environmental action, better use of public transport with reduced car-dependency and important road safety messages such as “children aged 10 years or under must always hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road,” Mr Scruby said.
