An “alarming drop in condition cardiovascular physics »
Mario Leone got it into his head a few years ago to answer a seemingly simple question: are Quebec children as fit as before?
“People said ‘young people look less fit’, but above all we had data from elsewhere to draw conclusions”, relates this doctor in exercise physiology.
He wanted to get to the bottom of it. But how to answer this question as faithfully as possible? In 1982, kinesiologist Luc Léger and other researchers administered the shuttle test – the famous beep-beep test – to Quebecers aged 6 to 17.
This test, which is now recognized throughout the world, consists of running the distance of 20 meters repeatedly at a rate that increases every minute.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The Dr Mario Leone, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke
The Dr Leone therefore decided to redo the same exercise 35 years later, in the same six cities as at the time, and to compare the results. From 2014 to 2017, with other researchers, they visited 36 schools in Montreal, Quebec, Saguenay, Trois-Rivières, Laval and Sherbrooke. Overall, young people aged 6 to 17 completed, on average in 2017, 30% fewer levels than in 1982.
The results of the 3725 young participants that the review is about to publish Frontiers in Public Health are worrying.
The study concludes “an alarming decline in cardiovascular fitness and functional capacity in a population of children and adolescents since the 1980s”.
“This highlights the threat of an epidemic of cardiometabolic disease in the near future,” write the researchers, who even include Luc Léger, the creator of the shuttle test who conducted the 1982 study.
“We have perceptions. We look at them, the young people, and we say to ourselves: “they look less fit than before”. But there, the measurement was made. We have numbers. It’s proven,” explains Pierre Lavoie, instigator of the Energy Cubes, who was able to consult the results of the Dr Leone and his team. “Does that discourage us? A little, to be frank. »
In short, young people today are less resistant to effort:
• In the space of 35 years in Quebec, the VO2 max of 17-year-old boys fell by 18% and that of girls of the same age by 12.2%;
• Vo2 max of children just 6 years old has also fallen, by 7.6% for boys and 8.3% for girls;
• The study raises a “red flag”, as many young people no longer meet the minimum value of VO2 max established by the literature to minimize the risk of developing major health problems. At 17, 58% of boys are below the critical protection threshold and nearly 70% of girls are. In 1982, all age groups were well above the critical zone.
A trend confirmed
Mario Leone thinks that these worrying results – which confirm a trend observed elsewhere in the world – should worry society and governments.
Everyone looks ahead and sees the wave of older people developing chronic diseases. But if you turn around and look back, it’s not a wave coming, it’s a tsunami.
The Dr Mario Leone, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke
If we do nothing, “in 10 or 15 years, we may end up with 35-year-olds with diseases of 70-year-olds,” he adds.
“The pressure on the health system is going to be enormous, because it will come from both sides: from those who are aging and from young people who are in a rather pitiful state and will sometimes require care for many, many years”, warns the Dr Leone, who is an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke.
The researcher’s results were obtained just before the pandemic and therefore do not even take into account the effects of confinements. But recent studies suggest a drop in fitness among young people since 2020.
Sedentary on the bench of the accused
Vo2 max is not only a measure of cardiorespiratory capacity, it is also one of the best markers of the risk of chronic diseases or premature death. In other words, a VO2 low max is associated with an increased risk of suffering from an array of diseases.
“It’s a scary study. You should know that we lose about 10% of our VO2 max per decade after 30 years. So someone who starts low in life risks ending up very handicapped later,” notes cardiologist Michel White, full professor of medicine at the University of Montreal.
How to explain the breathlessness of young Quebecers? The Dr Leone points to a sedentary lifestyle.
The biggest difference in the last 40 years is the amount of minutes spent on passive activities.
The Dr Mario Leone, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke
“In 1982, there was no internet, no cell phone, computers were just starting out and video games were not widely available,” he says. Young people spent their time in more physical activities. »
What solutions ?
The omnipresence of screens is a phenomenon that is difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. But several experts consulted by The Press believe that getting young people moving more is possible with targeted interventions.
Because the fall in the cardiorespiratory capacity of young people is far from inevitable: they just need to move more to remedy the situation.
Many experts believe young people should have more physical education classes at school.
“If the recommendation is to move for an hour a day, maybe there should be a physical education class for an hour a day at school,” notes Stéphanie Girard, professor in the activity sciences department. physics from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR).
This expert who is interested in the motivation of young people towards sport indicates that we must also move away from performance at a young age to focus instead on the pleasure of physical activity.
“Already at 4 or 5 years old, children are told we’re going to count the points,” she says. Already they are getting out of pleasure even before they have started to have it. »
“Change the culture athletic “
Pierre Lavoie has been working for nearly 20 years to get young people moving. He knows that this fight is difficult and that the apostles of physical activity are rowing against the tide.
We need a push, a general mobilization. From CPE to high school, young people must develop their physical literacy to be able to feel competent in different sports, not not performing well. He must have tools in his trunk.
Pierre Lavoie, instigator of the Energy Cubes and co-founder of the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie
The co-founder of the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie dreams of one day seeing the Quebec ministries of Health, Education, Sport and Youth sitting around the same table to solve this public health problem. “We had the Parent commission in education and it was a success. »
According to him, we must “change the sporting culture” in Quebec. We must encourage young people who can walk or ride to school, we must prohibit schools from removing mounds of snow in their yard, we must stop specializing young athletes and return to the pleasure of sport…
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Pierre Lavoie, instigator of the Energy Cubes and co-founder of the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie
“Me, the American model, he does not make me tripper. They won 121 medals at the Rio Games, won 113 in Tokyo, but they are the least fit society in the world. It is a national disaster. »
This boost, Pierre Lavoie hopes it will come quickly. Because the poor form of young people can already be seen in the health system, according to him.
“Young people have type 2 diabetes at age 12, clogged arteries at age 22… If we don’t do anything, we won’t get out of it. »
What is VO2 max?
Vo2 max measures breathing capacity and the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during intense exertion. It is expressed in milliliters per kilo per minute (ml/kg/min). According to the Montreal Heart Institute website, “the longer a person is able to perform high-intensity aerobic exercise, the greater their VO2 max is high.
Boost “educ” courses to counter the sedentary lifestyle
Increasing the time devoted to physical education at school to one hour a day would be an effective way of combating a sedentary lifestyle and poor cardiorespiratory fitness in children, believe many experts consulted by The Press.
The logic is simple: since public health authorities recommend that children and adolescents do one hour of physical activity per day, an equivalent amount of time should be set aside for physical education each school day.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
At present, the government recommends 2 hours per week of physical education and health in primary, 100 hours per year in lower secondary (1st and 2nd) and 50 hours per year in 3rd, 4th and 5th secondary .
“All young people go through school, so it is certain that it is effective,” notes François Trudeau, professor in the department of physical activity sciences at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières.
At present, the government recommends 2 hours per week of physical education and health in elementary school, 100 hours per year in lower secondary (1D and 2e) and 50 hours per year in 3e4e and 5e secondary. But this is only a suggestion: Quebec does not impose any minimum on schools.
“The debate is always the same: when you add physical activity, the other subjects complain about wasting time,” recalls Mr. Trudeau.
Studies have shown that when physical education time is increased at school, the results do not decrease, but the physical condition of young people increases. The youngster is a winner in the end. But politically, it may be difficult to pass.
François Trudeau, professor in the department of physical activity sciences at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières
A strategy carrier of meaning”
The Federation of Physical Educators and Teachers of Quebec (FEEPEQ) asks that one hour a day be devoted to this subject, even if it concedes that such a measure would come up against a shortage of teachers, equipment or the scarcity sports platforms.
“This is a meaningful strategy in a context where the forces of a sedentary lifestyle are greatly at work, whether we think of screen time or junk food,” remarks Christian Leclair, General Manager of the FEEPEQ.
Mr. Leclair is not surprised by the results of the study of Dr Leone. He has seen this worrying trend himself. He had his students take physical fitness tests from 2006 to 2021, including the shuttle test and others. “Results were down. »
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity per day for young people.
In its latest bulletin, the organization Participaction, which promotes physical activity in Canada, notes that the proportion of Canadian children who meet WHO recommendations has gone from 39% before the pandemic to 28% during the pandemic. -this.