News
4th edition of the Grand défi CIRCUIT futé (Andraea Van Hulst and Melanie Henderson, CHU Sainte-Justine CIRCUIT Centre)
28 August 2018
General Public News
The CHU Sainte-Justine CIRCUIT Centre offers a multidisciplinary, personalized intervention targeting improvements in lifestyle behaviors to Québec families of children and youth who have a known cardiovascular risk factor (e.g. obesity) (www.centrecircuit.com). A key objective is to reduce sedentary behaviors, especially leisure time spent on screens. On May 12 2018, the 4th edition of the Grand défi CIRCUIT futé took place. CIRCUIT patients, families and friends were invited to turn off all leisure related screens for one full day: 24 hours with no televisions, tablets, video games, or smartphones. A big challenge for youth and their families! As part of this event, CIRCUIT patients, families and friends were also invited to a conference given by Tracie Barnett, professor and researcher at the Armand Frappier Institute and author of an American Heart Association scientific statement on the impact sedentary behaviors on obesity and cardiometabolic health among youth.
Being sed
entary is a known risk factor for obesity. Research from a Quebec study (www.etudequalitystudy.ca) showed that the time spent in front of screens, more so than other types of sedentary behaviours, is particularly harmful for the cardiometabolic health of children and youth. Only 24% of Canadian children aged 5 to 17 years follow the recommendations of limiting leisure screen-based activities to less than 2 hours per day. The Grand défi CIRCUIT futé raised awareness among participating patients, family members and friends about their own screen-based habits and allowed them to develop strategies for a healthy screen use. Thanks to support from the CMDO Network, more than 70 members of the general public and patient-partners were able to participate in the activities organized as part of this challenge.
