Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

There has been a large increase in childhood obesity over the last 30 years. Many children who are obese also have type 2 diabetes and are at risk for other diseases (e.g., heart disease, stroke). Physical inactivity is linked to childhood obesity. However, most research on inactivity has focused on what children are not doing (physical activity). Little research has focused on what they are doing (sedentary behaviour). Sedentary behaviour involves participating in pursuits that require little energy (e.g., TV viewing, video games, computer). It is considered a separate behavior from physical activity. Early research has found that sedentary behaviours are linked with obesity and risk factors for other diseases. However, further research of the relationship is needed because many questions remain. For example: 1) What quantity, types, and patterns of sedentary behavior are most harmful to children's health? 2) Are relationships the same across age groups and genders? 3) What role does physical activity play? Therefore, there are two main objectives of this research project. 1) Examine the association between various sedentary behaviours and disease risk factors among children. 2) Determine if physical activity levels impact these associations. The results from this project will have important implications on the health of Canadian children. Specifically, public health interventions aimed at reducing the risk of obesity and other diseases may need to recommend increasing physical activity as well as decreasing sedentary behaviour.