A University of Regina study has rated the City of Yorkton鈥檚 Official Community Plan as the most 鈥楢ctive 鈥揕iving Friendly鈥� in the province.
鈥淵orkton came out on top at 82 per cent in terms of physical activity indicators in the Official Community Plan, followed by Prince Albert at 71 per cent,鈥� detailed a release sent out by the City of Yorkton. 鈥淩egina was at 65 per cent and Saskatoon at 52 per cent.鈥�
Research by a team from the University of Regina, University of British Columbia and Saskatchewan in motion examined a series of physical indicators included in the official community plans (OCPs) of Saskatchewan鈥檚 cities.聽
鈥淧hysical activity has for most people now become a 鈥渃hoice,鈥� and unfortunately it is a choice that is not always easy for many people,鈥� says Dr. Katya Herman, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies and Director of the U of R鈥檚 Physical Activity聽Epidemiology Lab in a U of R release. 鈥淗ealthy public policy has a large role to play in making the healthy choice the easy choice, in this case referring to opportunities for people to engage in healthy, active lifestyles.鈥�
Herman is a co-author of Active Living in Saskatchewan: A review of official community plans, published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health.
The lead author is Oluwasegun Hassan, a PhD student in the U of R鈥檚 Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies.
鈥淵orkton has a reputation in Saskatchewan for faring well when it comes to healthy public policy and attention being paid to promoting and enabling active lifestyles among its residents,鈥� said Kryzanowski in the U of R release. 鈥淎 lot of this comes down to leadership. Strong community advocates together with the support of members of council, city planning and community development helped to foster municipal policy with a health promotion mindset.鈥�
The research shows there鈥檚 room for improvement for most of Saskatchewan鈥檚 cities.
鈥淭he study may aid various community action groups and stakeholders in setting priorities for future strategic planning that are directed toward the development of more active communities across Saskatchewan,鈥� said Faulkner. 鈥淎ctive communities are healthier communities.鈥�
The research paper points out that 鈥渙besity may be partly ascribed to environmental factors鈥� and the surveys support that conclusion.
As of 2017, Saskatchewan had the highest rate of obesity among Canadian provinces.
According to Saskatchewan in motion, fewer than 15 per cent of Saskatchewan children and youth get the 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity they need.
Nationally, the 2016 ParticipACTION report card found that fewer than 10 per cent of children and youth meet these physical activity guidelines.
Only 15 per cent of adults in Canada are getting the recommended 150 minutes weekly physical activity needed, according to Statistics Canada.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty delighted about this,鈥� offered Yorkton鈥檚 Randy Goulden Vice Chair of In Motion provincially.
Goulden said the designation is gratifying because it fits with many of the goals of groups such as Saskatchewan In Motion, which for one has a mandate to see 鈥渕ore kids, more active more often.鈥�
And that in turn dovetails with one of the goals of the City of Yorkton, to have an active community laid out in the official Community Plan.
The Plan is one 鈥渢he community was involved in,鈥� developing, she added. That is a key aspect of the Plan and its success that everyone is involved in the Plan and making it happen.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the City of Yorkton, but everybody who lives in Yorkton that makes the Plan come alive,鈥� she said.
Goulden said what is happening in Yorkton 鈥渄id not happen overnight,鈥� but is part of an integrated approach to having people be active.
As an example, Goulden pointed to the collaborative transportation effort to facilitate young students walking to and from school more often, and the idea of marking streets to aid bicycle use.
To have an independent group, such as the one associated with the University of Regina rate Yorkton so highly suggests the City is on target, said Goulden.
As part of the Community Plan Goulden said the City is always looking at ways to offer recreation options in the city, which includes expanding the pathways around the city, and plans for a spray park and outdoor rink at Pioneer Park.
The research team reviewed the official community plans of 17 Saskatchewan cities with populations greater than 4500, 鈥渢o identify policies supportive of physical activity,鈥� according to the research paper, stated the U of R release. Using 17 physical activity indicators, the team found that more than half of the OCPs included residential plans incorporating active living, and downtown cycling and pedestrian plans.
However, most cities鈥� plans (about 65 per cent) did not directly mention increasing or promoting physical activity or active living.
Other physical activity indicators included pedestrian, cycling, recreation, and connectivity master plans as well as plans and policy statements associated with active living such as open spaces for parks and recreational activities, stated the release.
