Are you the parent of a teenager?  Sogo Active helps youth between the ages of 13-19 become more physically active    

Since the fall of 2008, Sogo Active has been engaging teens to lead more active lifestyles.  Presented by Coca-Cola Canada in collaboration with ParticipACTION, a network of provincial/territorial coordinators and approximately 1,300 local Community Host organizations, Sogo Active has inspired almost 13,000 Canadian youth to get moving.  During the first phase of Sogo Active, over 1000 youth were selected by Coca-Cola Canada to carry the Olympic Flame in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. Plus, more than $500,000 in Sogo Active micro-grants were distributed to enable teens to increase their physical activity.  

Now, Sogo Active has an updated look and offers the Sogo Active Challenge—asking youth to challenge themselves and their friends to find new reasons and new opportunities to get active. At  www.sogoactive.com, you will see more educational messaging about the physical inactivity crisis and the support and information youth need to find, join or create ongoing physical activity Challenges and one-time events.  Challenges are either national, inviting anyone to participate from wherever they live, hosted by local Community Host organizations in neighbourhoods across Canada or created by youth for themselves and their friends to join.   

We invite parents to visit the Sogo Active website to familiarize themselves with the issue and the Sogo Active opportunity.  Many parents think their kids are active, but the reality is that only 12% of our children and youth are active enough to meet Canada’s guidelines.   The goal of Sogo Active is to solve Canada’s inactivity crisis by encouraging youth to incorporate activity into their daily lives. The challenge is to get youth up and do something active for 90 minutes a day. Youth don’t need to go from zero to 90 minutes right away – including a bit more activity each day is an effective way of becoming more active for life.  

Visit Sogo Active for more information on the program.  And, if you’re interested in getting your child’s team, school, club or local organization involved, find out more about registering as a Community Host organization.  Together, we can get Canada’s youth moving. 

The Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card offers the most comprehensive annual assessment of child and youth physical activity in Canada.

START YOUNG. START STRONG.

The early years are a critical period for growth and development.

Parents, health professionals, educators and caregivers must work together to build the foundation needed to sustain physical activity throughout life.

There may be an assumption that physical activity occurs naturally at a young age and doesn't require attention or study. We need to know more about the relationships between physical activity and healthy early development.

Although work is ongoing to fill the gap, Canada does not have physical activity guidelines for children under six. While international guidelines vary, the consensus is that all children aged 1-5 years should participate in at least two hours of physical activity every day, accumulated over may sessions and as part of play, games, transportation and recreation.

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