Some Canadians may be haunted by memories of being whipped by dodge balls in elementary school, or not being fit enough to play midfield in soccer. Unpleasant memories of phys-ed class can turn Canadians of all ages off exercise and sport, but there is a way to reverse the trend toward inactivity.

The combination of a car-friendly culture and sedentary activities like watching TV or playing video games make it unsurprising that at least 25 per cent of Canadians aged two to 17 are overweight, according to Statistics Canada.

A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal showed TV watching has the average Canadian child sedentary for three to five hours a day in front of the tube. The study also showed that in the past 15 years, the incidence of obesity has grown by more than 50 per cent in children aged 6 to 11 and by 40 per cent in those aged 12 to 17.

Adding to the problem is that only nine per cent of parents acknowledge weight problems in their children, the Canadian Medical Association reported in August 2006. (The two-month survey of 592 parents is considered accurate within plus or minus four percentage points, 19 times out of 20.)

Canada's Physical Activity Guide advises children should aim for 90 minutes a day of physical activity.

Scientists in Nova Scotia used pedometers to record kids' physical activity levels

In 2002, researchers in Nova Scotia concluded two-thirds of children and youth in Canada aren't physically active enough to gain health benefits that would offer protection from heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

The researchers fitted children with pedometers that recorded all of their physical activity — club and recreational sports, walking etc., rather than relying on children to report how much they moved.

Over the past two decades, rates of overweight and obesity nearly tripled among Canadian children, according to the Canadian Institutes of Health Information's report, titled "Improving the Health of Canadians 2004."

Likewise, the report's authors noted four out of five Canadian youth are not active enough to meet international guidelines for optimal growth and development.

The figures mean Canada can only draw on about one-third of youth to fill the pool of potential Olympic athletes of the future.

Since 2004, the federal government has increased funding for amateur sports twice. The former Liberal government boosted its annual allotment by $30 million in its 2004 budget, to a total of $120 million a year.

And in May 2006 — in its first budget — the Conservative government acted on its campaign pledge to provide one per cent of health spending for sport and physical activity, boosting the annual total to $147 million.

In addition, the government proposed a children's fitness tax credit. It would apply to fees paid for "an eligible program of physical activity" for children under the age of 16. The credit is due to come into effect on January 1, 2007, and is expected to cost the government $160 million a year.

In October 2006, the Expert Panel for the Children's Fitness Tax Credit provided a list of eligibility criteria for the tax credit, stressing the importance of activities that boost cardio-respiratory fitness.

For Joe MacDonald, a professor at the school of education at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., funding for school sports teams should be connected to the school curriculum.

If young children are taught to understand how their bodies move, they'll be more likely to join the teams, he told CBC News Online. Instead of being intimidated, they'll learn to enjoy sports and physical activities.

Endocrinologist Dr. Laurent Legault of Montreal Children's Hospital agrees self-consciousness and low self-esteem can be barriers to phys-ed instruction. "We want to move past the team sports concept and move to activities that someone can take with them when they're 80," Legault said in March 2004. Teaching outdoor activities like cross-country skiing, for example, can be a hit with students.

Adding to the problem is that only nine per cent of parents acknowledge weight problems in their children, the Canadian Medical Association reported in August 2006.

Before they can get to that stage, though, children need some tools. MacDonald called today's children "physically illiterate" – just as they need to learn the mechanics of grammar to read and write, they also need to learn the "language of movement."

Lesson plans should teach gross and fine motor skills, spatial awareness and timing. It may seem like children can run instinctively, but according to MacDonald, they need to learn the pacing of running.

Teaching children how to do three simple activities – run, jump and throw – is the key to their being able to enjoy other physical activities, from dance to golf to hockey.

Under this strategy, by the time children are about 11, they'll have the proper psychomotor development and skills needed to play sports, he said.

Instead, adults impose their rules on children, forcing them to play sports by adult rules. Under that formula, only the elite kids who can handle it are able to succeed at sports, the professor said.

He cites Canada's Kyle Shewfelt, Olympic gold medallist in gymnastics, as an example of the one-third of Canadians who were physically active as a child.

At age six, before starting school, Shewfelt was asked by a coach where he learned to do a handspring. "In the backyard," Shewfelt answered. Parents, teachers and coaches nurtured the naturally gifted athlete to success at the Olympic floor event.

The CIHI report notes physical activity among children and youth is often linked to school settings.

Daily phys-ed is required until graduation in Quebec. Alberta requires 30 minutes of physical activity in all schools from grades one through nine.

In Ontario in 2006, researchers recommended the province consider changing its high school phys-ed program to help adolescents get their recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity.

Participation in physical education dropped to 50 per cent in Grade 10 from 98 per cent in Grade 9, when it is mandatory. In Grades 11 and 12, the numbers fell even further to 43 and 36 per cent respectively.

The province requires all students from junior kindergarten through grade eight to perform 20 minutes of physical activity every day - not including recess. Just over a third of Ontario’s elementary schools have a phys-ed teacher on staff.

The Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance recommends 150 minutes a week of physical education, but only one in five schools meets the requirement. On average, schools offer about 25 minutes of the huffing and puffing-type physical activity needed to keep the heart and lungs fit, said the association's Terry McKinty.