ParticipACTION's Inspire the Nation Tour tells Ottawa to tone up
Posted Jul 10, 2009 By Desmond Devoy
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EMC News - "C'mon Mommy." 
Kieran Devoy
Orléans resident Joania Burnett was inspired to get active by her toddler son, so as she could keep up with him at the park, as well as lose weight. She spoke in Centretown last week at the Ottawa tour stop.
With those two words, Orléans resident Joania Burnett knew that her two-year-old son had her beat as she chased him around the playground.
"That was the pivotal moment. I just couldn't keep up any more," said Burnett, speaking in front of the Capital Infocentre, 90 Wellington Street in Centretown, on the afternoon of Monday, June 29. "There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to keep up with a toddler who learned to walk six months ago."
It was around that time that she had to make a solemn vow to herself.
"I'm going to lose 101 lbs. I'm not sure why 101," but it seemed like a good number to her. A very brave woman, she told the assembled that, as of December 2008, she weighed 258 lbs. "I'm just the average, regular girl who never moved and who came home and sat on the couch, but not before going to the fridge for something I shouldn't (eat.)"
Since she adapted her diet and added exercise to her routine, she improved by leaps and bounds. Burnett has gone from lifting five pound dumb bells to 20 pound dumb bells, and is in the midst of training for her first five km run in October.
"It changed my life," she said. However, she admitted that she's no angel. "I cheat as well. You've got to. Everything in moderation."
Burnett was speaking during the fourth stop of the 15,000 km ParticipACTION Inspire the Nation tour, which is criss-crossing the country in a purple and orange trailer. Before her speech, volunteers played Frisbee and jumped rope in the shadow of Parliament Hill, near a statue of another great Canadian who never let bad weather or physical deterrents get in his way - Terry Fox.
The tour will take in 31 communities in total in order "to inspire Canadians to get off the couch. We've become a sedentary society. Just get moving," said Kelly Murumets, President and Chief Executive Officer of ParticipACTION.
Josée Dixon, a regional vice president with Sun Life Financial, agreed with the tour's goal "to bring a simple and direct message to Canadians, to find ways to add more physical activity," to their daily routines.
Dixon noted that obesity rates in Canada have nearly tripled from where they were 30 years ago, and that more than half of Canadians are physically inactive, which has "placed an economic burden on our country."
"As a nation, the time is now to get active. By moving more, Canadians can have a positive impact on their health," she said. "The health of Canada is in crisis...inactivity can lead to chronic health problems and even death."
Just by moving around, they can help reduce the risk of 25 chronic conditions.
"Each of us has the opportunity to be a role model for our family and friends," Dixon said, and she was quick to add that she too practices what she preaches.
"I decided last January that I would move. I decided to walk home from work every day," she said. Even with the cold winter wind and snow, she noted that she was able to do it "because I'm Canadian and I can take it and so can you."
Dixon ended her remarks with the stirring motto: "He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything."
One participant certainly had nothing to prove when it came to athletic ability.
Former Olympian Sue Holloway of Active Ottawa is perhaps best known for being the first woman and first Canadian to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics in the same year, 1976, in Montréal, and Innsbruck, Austria, respectively.
But she had advice for those who feel the lure of the couch when it comes to trying to stay active.
"Find someone to do it with. You're much less likely to bail out if you know that there is some one waiting for you," she advised. "It can be hard to start," she admitted, but noted that "there is something out there for everyone. Do something you like...(and) do it daily. All you need to do is get out there."
"When I work out, I surprise myself at what I can accomplish, even in my advanced years," Holloway added.
According to 2006 data from Statistics Canada, 67 per cent of Ottawa residents aged 15 and older in the workforce rely on a car, truck or van as their main method of transportation. Meanwhile, only 10 per cent choose to walk or cycle. Ottawa Public Health also reported in 2008 that 17 per cent of Ottawa adults aged 18 to 69 have low activity levels throughout the day.
