City kids dropping the ball for video games

Children from Canada's three largest cities -- Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal -- are participating less in sports today than they did more than 10 years ago, according to Statistics Canada.

Using data from 1992 and 2005, the study found that fewer than half the children in these cities were taking part in regular organized sports in 2005.

The study looked at trends among children aged 5 to 14 -- an estimated two million -- from across Canada.

Fifty-eight per cent of children living in smaller cities and towns with a population between 10,000 and 50,000 participated in sports.

Comparatively, Canada's three most populous cities were home to the country's lowest youth sports participation, at only 47 per cent.

The study, titled Kids' Sports, said children are more likely to engage in sports if they live in neighbourhoods that are considered safe for outside play.

Sports participation refers to activities in which children regularly engage at least once a week. On the whole, sports participation among children is down to 51 per cent in 2005 from 57 per cent in 1992.

The increase in video games and Internet use among children could also explain the decline in sport participation.

The study found that, since 1992, the proportion of boys taking part in sports fell 10 per cent, while the rate among girls dropped four percentage points, from 49 per cent to 45 per cent.

Maria Cootauco, The Province

Published: Wednesday, June 04, 2008