Childhood obesity still a battle
Parents turn off the TV and video games and find ways to get your kids moving. School boards do not cut physical education classes as this might be the only exercise kids receive in a given day. If anything we need to increase the time children spend in P.E. Regular exercise is known to fight fat.
About 9 million or 16 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight. This is three times the percentage in 1980 when I was in that age group. Times are different now. When I was a kid my parents didn't have to send us outside; we were always outside playing. We had a wooded area in Southern Maryland where we lived that we called "The Beautiful Land." My parents bought a bell to ring so that we would know it was time to come in for dinner. My sister and I rode bikes around a circle where a friend had a tray of rocks and we picked one up and the next time around dropped it off. Silly but we were active without prodding from our parents.
What has contributed to this obesity epidemic amongst children: junk food being sold in schools, P.E. being cut or limited(fewer than 10% offer daily P.E. classes) are two reasons but before we blame schools note that children gain more weight during the summer than during the rest of the year. Once classes resume, children's body mass indexes fall.
We as parents are responsible for keeping our kids fit. Choose taking a walk over renting a movie as a family activity. Physical activity has an incredible by-product: it improves academic performance. So why are schools cutting P.E.??????? They are cutting P.E. because they need more class time to boost math and reading scores when if they kept the P.E. and exercise the academic scores would improve due to the exercise children receive. Stimulates the brain cells.
School boards shouldn't be worried about the cost of more P.E. After all what price can you put on good health? To win the battle of the bulge for our children, we as parents need to get mobilized. If we band together and demand more of P.E., schools will respond.
Physical exercise goes beyond weight control. It leads to overall physical and mental health energy and the ability to focus.
About 9 million or 16 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight. This is three times the percentage in 1980 when I was in that age group. Times are different now. When I was a kid my parents didn't have to send us outside; we were always outside playing. We had a wooded area in Southern Maryland where we lived that we called "The Beautiful Land." My parents bought a bell to ring so that we would know it was time to come in for dinner. My sister and I rode bikes around a circle where a friend had a tray of rocks and we picked one up and the next time around dropped it off. Silly but we were active without prodding from our parents.
What has contributed to this obesity epidemic amongst children: junk food being sold in schools, P.E. being cut or limited(fewer than 10% offer daily P.E. classes) are two reasons but before we blame schools note that children gain more weight during the summer than during the rest of the year. Once classes resume, children's body mass indexes fall.
We as parents are responsible for keeping our kids fit. Choose taking a walk over renting a movie as a family activity. Physical activity has an incredible by-product: it improves academic performance. So why are schools cutting P.E.??????? They are cutting P.E. because they need more class time to boost math and reading scores when if they kept the P.E. and exercise the academic scores would improve due to the exercise children receive. Stimulates the brain cells.
School boards shouldn't be worried about the cost of more P.E. After all what price can you put on good health? To win the battle of the bulge for our children, we as parents need to get mobilized. If we band together and demand more of P.E., schools will respond.
Physical exercise goes beyond weight control. It leads to overall physical and mental health energy and the ability to focus.
posted by Oma's blog at
7:37 AM
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