According an article published online in an Australian newspaper, The Courier Mail, today’s children are going to be the ‘victims of heart attacks’ and other obesity related diseases and ailments. Out of the 12,000 children surveyed more than three quarters did not get enough exercise and less than a quarter ate enough fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.
In the UK a 2008 study found that over 16% of boys and more than 15% of girls were overweight. In the USA the results weren’t very different with almost 17% of children and adolescents suffering from weight problems. In 2008, there were more than 1.5 billion overweight adults around the world.
Fat kids are likely to become and stay fat adults. At the beginning the problems may not be evident but with each extra year many of the preventable diseases like diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and depression begin to emerge. These diseases cost money and they cost lives.
The current concern should be the welfare of these children. The focus should be on introducing them to healthy food, water instead of soft drink and regular physical activity. But it’s not just they who need to be addressed. It’s their parents and guardians too. If parents don’t have a clue (and unfortunately many don’t) their children are unlikely to either, which creates a spiral that over the past two decades has gotten out of control.
In primary school I was a fit kid. Cross country running, athletics, swimming carnivals and touch football were the norm. I even trained five to eight times a week in the pool. I loved munching on sausage rolls (wouldn’t touch them now) and Classic Magnums (I wouldn’t mind one right now) in between races or on the way home from an event. I didn’t see a problem with these treats because (a) I ate healthy ninety percent of the time – school lunches consisted of chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, water or juice; (b) I spent a lot of my free time in an active way; (c) my mum cooked healthy and delicious meals at home which meant take out like KFC was a treat; and (d) I was a kid who hadn’t yet been duped by the diet industry. When we didn’t have a car our family would walk 5km to the local swimming pool and spend the day there before walking back home in the afternoon or evening. Physical activity was the norm rather than the exception it seems to be for many.
Today when I look around I see more children drinking cola and eating burgers than I do munching on an apple or salad. It’s easier to find a twelve year old with his gaze fixated on a game console than it is kicking a football around the backyard. Their childhoods are being wasted away in front of a computer screen that will never give them back the precious time.
On a positive note I have to praise the parents who do make an effort even if they are short on time to ensure that their children get a dose of physical activity every day. I love it when I attend a fun run and there are mothers and fathers running with their kids in strollers or when there are fun runs or other sporting events organised for kids. Organised events along with parental support are exactly what kids need to grow up to be healthy and fit adults.
Not everyone has to be a runner, or a swimmer, or a kickboxer, but physical activity should be a daily habit. Small lifestyle changes can help a great deal in combating the obesity epidemic amongst today’s youth, including:
*Taking a walk with the whole family after dinner. It’ll give you quality time to talk, help the food in your stomach to digest, and ensure you get some exercise into your day.
*Leaving the car at home and go for a long bike ride on a Saturday afternoon.
*Encouraging your children to participate in school sports and make sure they sign up for an activity they like.
*Spending the day in the park or at the beach playing volleyball, cricket or throwing the Frisbee around.
*Getting them involved in a physical after school activity. There are plenty to choose from: tennis, soccer, football, swimming, dance, martial arts. Even attending once or twice a week will help them become fitter and healthier.
*Making physical education a compulsary and daily part of education throughout primary, secondary and tertiary education.
Okay, now that I’ve had my vent, what do you think of the state of children’s health today and what can be done about it?
I was a fat kid, and I’m struggling as an adult to be fit!
As far as what can be done: IDK what schools are like in other countries, but US schools keep cutting out recess and games. Kids NEED that break, both for their mental health and to burn some calories.
At home, it’s tricky, because our culture has convinced parents that kids are never safe when they are out of reach of their parent, so many parents have reacted by keeping their kids at home and indoors. If mum doesn’t have time to watch the kids play in the garden, then it doesn’t happen– heaven forbid the kids play outdoors unsupervised!
There are a lot of layers to the problem and what can be done about it… I think it boils down to one family at a time making good choices and encouraging their friends to do the same.
Classic Magmum – yum!
But I digress… it’s harder for kids today because computers are so neccessary, because making your kids walk is seen as cruel, because it’s more dangerous to leave kids alone in a public park all day, because…
There are so many reasons but like you I love to see kids playing outside, being creative and getting on with discovering what strength or fitness means. It’s up to us as adults to show them how much fun it can be ….in the ideal world!
Su, I agree that the amount of recess and sports in schools is limited and appears to be getting worse. Here in Poland, I rarely see kids playing sport in their free time – video games are so much more appealing.
But how can a sedentary family get motivated to start being active? I’d propose tax rebates for extracurricular sporting activities that kids could get involved in which in the end would save tax payers and the government money in health care.
Niamh, there’s always a reason NOT to do something. I’m wondering though when parents will wake up and find reasons to do something instead.
There are many people who were anti sport at one time but all it took was a few sessions at the gym, a few runs or an interesting sport to get them to fall in love with sport.
I hope that people will return to healthier ways of living and I’ll see headlines in the newspapers announcing that kids are getting fitter and obesity costs are decreasing – fingers crossed anyway 🙂