TORONTO — Alberta plans to do it and now a survey suggests parents in other parts of the country also want daily physical education in the schools.

Ninety-one per cent of Canadians surveyed last month agreed provincial governments should make it mandatory for all students - from kindergarten to Grade 12 - to have at least 30 minutes of physical activity each school day.

The Ipsos-Reid survey was conducted for Today's Parent magazine and asked questions of 1,025 Canadians from Sept. 23 to 25. Results are considered accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Ninety-four per cent agreed that the number of overweight and inactive children is a serious health issue in Canada.

In August, Alberta Learning Minister Lyle Oberg said he wants to see at least 30 minutes of daily physical education mandatory within two years.

The survey also found that 68 per cent of respondents feel that fast-food restaurants do not offer enough low-fat nutritious choices for children. And 61 per cent said they don't feel food companies and fast-food restaurants are acting responsibly in their advertising of foods and beverages to children.

In addition, 81 per cent said television, the Internet and video games are so powerful that it makes it hard for parents to get their kids to be more physically active.

"In 1992, half of Canadian families were eating a home-made meal from scratch every day, and now only a quarter of Canadian families are doing so - with predictable results," said Dr. Glenys Babcock of Ipsos-Reid.

"The survey findings indicate that Canadians want action on many fronts to find solutions to the problem of childhood obesity."

Recent Statistics Canada figures indicate that one in three Canadian children is overweight, and almost half of those children are obese.

Today's Parent offers the following tips for parents:

• Limit the time kids sit in front of the TV and computer to two hours a day, or less.
• Work with your school to get good food in and junk food out.
• Get your kids moving every day: walking, dancing, swimming, anything. Don't take no for an answer.
• Make your grocery mantra "low saturated and trans fat, low salt, low sugar" and say yes to fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat milk. Save the pop and junk food for special occasions.