His dream, he says, is for Canada to be “the fittest nation on Earth.”
So MP John Weston is elated after his bill to establish the first Saturday in June as National Health and Fitness Day passed last week.
Weston has been working with Senator Nancy Greene Raine, who was voted as Canada's Female Athlete of the 20th Century, to ensure the act was passed in Parliament. Now it will be up to municipal governments across Canada to get people involved every June.
“We’re trying to get a real movement going that promotes physical activity,” Weston told The Squamish Chief. “It really is a gift from our riding – the skiers and cyclists of Squamish who care about health and fitness – to the rest of the country.”
While the day will include fun and games, the issue is a serious one. “Our obesity rates are climbing – 35 per cent of youth are overweight or obese and few get the recommended amount of physical activity.”
Due to the higher risk of cardiovascular problems and other health issues related to physical inactivity and obesity, taxpayers will foot the bill for higher health costs as today’s children age.
“The economic costs are enormous,” warned Weston, who is MP for West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky Country.
Weston says his family is active and he hopes all Canadians will engage in the same lifestyle.
“I love cycling and running and swimming,” said the MP, adding he, his wife, Donna, and children, Shane, 16, Jake, 14 and Meimei, 13, all have black belts in tae kwon do.
He’d like to see all federal politicians become more fit. “I’ve been working to get parliamentarians to be more active. Their health is poor due to the lifestyle,” he commented.
Weston said he gave out “gaudy” bike pins to everyone who would wear them on Parliament Hill last week and was pleased to see ministers and members of all parties sporting the pins.
“We should not be burdening our health care system with the results of unhealthy lifestyles,” Greene Raine cautioned. She noted that Canada needs to ensure that children grow up with the skills they need to enjoy physical activities.
Greene Raine was Canada's top ski racer through the 1960s, winning gold and silver medals at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics and overall World Cup titles in 1967 and 68. Her total of 13 World Cup victories is still a Canadian record.
