Childhood obesity can be addressed and it will take time. Many schools are changing from the old ways of pizza and hot dogs for breakfast and lunch to healthier varieties based on the school. However, many of the schools still serve pizza and fries at lunch. When children can choose what to eat they will always pick pizza and fries. The situation is a difficult conundrum because the fight is against society and against what children like and children are all about what they like.
Society knows that fast food isn’t the healthiest thing to eat after soccer practice but it’s done anyway. It’s done for convenience and I think it’s a fight against trends. Fast foods went from serving really healthy foods such as salads and wraps to deciding to feed the masses. The masses want giant burgers and the biggest bang for the buck in a down economy. A down economy and time are huge factors and when combined, a healthy meal at home doesn’t sound as easy as a meal out.
It is possible to eat healthy on fast food for an entire year. I’m not criticizing the fast food restaurants. Society is simply consuming high calories in low volume food. For example, a medium fries seems innocuous but it can have over 600 calories. People do not feel these calories nor do they feel like they don’t have to eat for another eight hours. The fries that came with the hamburger and the milkshake is another 1200 calories. An entire day’s food value is in one meal and it looks reasonable. It’s not a giant burger or super sized fries and super milk shake, but it is very high in calories.
Childhood obesity is not the parent’s fault or industry’s fault; it’s what our society has come to. Fast food is popular right now and people are going to eat it because they can and it costs $2.00 for a burger with six strips of bacon, what a deal. I think it’s a popularity thing. The restaurants wouldn’t offer the high caloric meals if they didn’t sell. I don’t think there’s anyone out there that thinks a burger with 6 strips of bacon on it is a healthy meal.
Children have a natural ability to run and play, to create forts, and games such as tag. If children are left for four hours on their own in an enclosed safe space they are going to get more exercise than they do in a soccer game, volleyball or basketball practice, or ballet lesson. Putting children in programs where they wait in line and learn a new skill does not create the constant long-term activity and necessary expenditure of energy. A lot of schools have cut recess due to the safety issue and recess is almost more important than physical education because all the children do is run around.
Schools could implement recess in a gym where the children have the space to create their own activities, run around, and expend energy. If you match inactivity with high calorie food you are going to see severe obesity and increase in diabetes. Childhood diabetes is on the rise because of the obesity in children. Diabetes used to be called adult onset diabetes and juvenile diabetes. Now it is called type 1 and type 2 diabetes because 12 year old children are getting type 2 diabetes. Children are getting diseases that only adults used to get.
The best way to prevent childhood obesity is for the parents to be the example. Go with your children to the park and let them run around. Play games with them, go bike riding together, create a safe outlet for exercise and energy expenditure. Make play safe again, take them to the beach and play volleyball with them, go into the water with them, don’t sit on the beach telling them not to go into the water and not to go too far. Get out there and exercise with your children.
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