The Balance

Screen use among children and youth is a hot topic. Many of us are wondering how to help young people in our life be safer online, and how to reduce excessive screen time and the negative impacts it has on child development.  Today, you’ll hear data-driven and practical recommendations for managing screen use at home, based on research shared by Sana Fakih at Child Health BC.  We’ll also zoom out to look at digital health and screen time as policy issues in Canada and internationally. We’ll speak with Osob Mahdi, who works on policy and advocacy here at the BC Alliance for Healthy Living.-Visit us online at bchealthyliving.ca.-Get updates about health promotion and advocacy by subscribing to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hcpSNHConnect with us on social:-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/BC-Healthy-Living-Alliance/100064484400-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bchealthyliving/-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bc-alliance-for-healthy-living/

Sian Blyth, the Executive Director of the BC Wheelchair Basketball Society, explores how physical activity can be more accessible and inclusive for people living with disabilities. The Balance is recorded and produced by BCAHL’s Communications Manager on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Thank you so much for listening.Episode Links:BC Wheelchair Basketball Society: https://www.bcwbs.ca/ Subscribe to BCAHL’s newsletters: http://eepurl.com/hcpSNH

We dive deep into food insecurity within the province with Valerie Tarasuk, and how COVID-19 has accentuated the issue.Valerie Tarasuk is a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, and leads PROOF, a research program launched with funding from CIHR to investigate policy interventions to reduce food insecurity in Canada.Valerie critically discusses the research findings from The Future of BC’s Food Systems: Findings and Recommendations (British Columbia) by The Food Security Task Force, and provides her insights on the idea of a universal basic income. The Balance is recorded and produced by BCAHL’s Communications Manager on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Thank you so much for listening.Episode Links:PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research: https://proof.utoronto.ca/The Future of BC’s Food Systems: Findings and Recommendations (British Columbia) by The Food Security Task Force: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/121/2020/01/FSTF-Report-2020-The-Future-of-Food.pdfThe Future of BC’s Food System: Response to Findings and Recommendations of the BC Food Security Task Force. Prepared by: The Institute for Sustainable Food Systems at Kwantlen Polytechnic University: https://www.kpu.ca/sites/default/files/ISFS%20Response_layoutFINAL_0.pdfSubscribe to BCAHL’s newsletters: http://eepurl.com/hcpSNH

COVID-19 has affected us in all aspects of our lives, including physical activity. Guy Faulkner, a professor from the School of Kinesiology at the University of British Columbia, elaborates on his research (https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/facultyresearchandpublications/52383/items/1.0392348) on how the pandemic impacts the physical activity levels of Canadian children and youth’. Guy’s research used the ParticipACTION Impact Report (https://www.participaction.com/en-ca/content/impact-report) to measure recommended physical activity levels. Iyoma Yvonne Edache, a PhD student at the School of Public and Population Health at the University of British Columbia, recently published research exploring the impact of financial insecurity on adolescent health behaviours. In the interview with her, Iyoma referenced to a paper (https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/8/2352) on how COVID impacted Canadian families with young children. The Balance is recorded and produced by BCAHL’sCommunications Manager on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

This episode of the Balance was recorded in a beautiful heritage building which serves as the headquarters of the BC Lung Association before the COVID19 pandemic began and over zoom during the second phase of the COVID19 pandemic. In this Episode, we talk to Chris Lam, President & CEO of BC Lung Association. This conversation took place about a month before our province declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19. Since then, BC Lung Association has stepped up to take on an integral information-sharing role about COVID-19 and lung health.Later we talk to Annie Smith, the Executive Director of the McCreary Centre Society, who made time to discuss vaping as it relates to youth in BC.BC Lung Association: https://bc.lung.ca/#GetTheScoop – PSA about youth vaping (https://bc.lung.ca/news/new-video-flavoured-vapes-hook-kids)QuitNow (https://bc.lung.ca/how-we-can-help/quit-smoking-support-and-community)Vaping Prevention Toolkit (https://bc.lung.ca/how-we-can-help/vaping/vaping-prevention-toolkit)Clearing the Air: a youth-led research project about vaping2018 BC Adolescent Survey (https://mcs.bc.ca/pdf/yrs_clearing_the_air.pdf)Check back to McCreary Centre Society’s webpage for the results of the recent Vaping and Tobacco Survey: https://www.mcs.bc.ca/The podcast theme song is Sneaky Business by Biz Baz Studio. You can listen to the whole song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=In5JQdQHH5EThe Balance is recorded and produced by BCAHL’s Communications Manager on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.Thank you so much for listening.