Drs. Rachel Colley and Pat Longmuir, Junior Research Scientists with HALO, have been successful in a recent CIHR grant competition. Details of the funded grant are below:
Title: PAR-Q for KIDS: An ethical approach for encouraging children to participate in higher intensity or maximal effort physical activity
Investigators: Rachel Colley and Patricia Longmuir
Description: The epidemic of childhood obesity has intensified efforts to promote daily physical activity participation for all children. For health benefits, children and youth should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily, including vigorous activities at least 3 days per week. In the rush to promote the health benefits of increased physical activity, the potential health risks and detrimental health impacts that can result from increased or intense physical activity have not been addressed. While physical activity is safe and appropriate for most children, a small proportion of children are at risk for serious, even potentially fatal, health consequences from increased or vigorous physical activity. This project will inform the development of a screening tool modeled after the adult-based PAR-Q that will help health practitioners screen children for rare conditions that might put them at risk during high intensity exercise and/or fitness testing.
