Today’s children have more and more opportunities to remain sedimentary. They have every type of technology at their fingertips and whether it be television, video games, the computer or other such activities, they can sit for hours inside instead of being outside remaining active.The challenge with this is that many of our children are beginning to have problems with their health and being overweight due to this lack of exercise. In examining some of the facts I came across some interesting statistics on this topic at the following site (http://www.fitnessforkids.org/home.htm)
Did you know the following facts?
- Every second child in America is overweight, almost all are out of shape and the problem of obesity is becoming more severe every day
- Never before in human history have kids been so inactive and eaten so unhealthy
- Nowadays kids grow up with a huge lack of integrity, tolerance and respect for themselves, and consequently, of others
- Medical science has shown that most adult health problems stem from Childhood. This generation of children is already experiencing major health problems. These serious diseases are occurring at increasingly earlier ages
- In 10-20 years an entire generation of young adults will suffer from major health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and diabetes if we do not educate them today.
- Kids are 50% of the world’s population and 100% of our future:
Some questions you should ask yourself include:
- What kinds of things do you do on a regular basis (daily or weekly) that require you to be active?
- What kinds of things can you do to schedule more activity into your busy day for you and your children?
These questions may open your eyes to the amount of physical activity that you do individually on a daily basis. Do not be discouraged though if you are lacking in physical activity. As most will tell you, you are never to old to begin being active, but as most experts will tell you, check with your doctor before starting a vigorous exercise routine. The below links can provide you with some hints and tidbits on the importance of activity for children, as well as how you can start to move them in the right direction if you are not already doing so.
- http://www.life123.com/parenting/young-children/kids-fitness/teaching-children-about-healthy-lifestyles.shtml
- http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/fit/fit_kid.html
- http://www.fitnessforkids.org/articles_parents_tips.htm
- http://www.presidentschallenge.org/home_kids.aspx
- http://www.examiner.com/x-10302-Philadelphia-Triathlon-Examiner~y2009m8d29-Weekend-fitness-secrets–exercising-with-kids
So today, answer the above questions for yourself as well as check out some of the above articles and see where you stand. What are some concrete ways in which you can move your family toward a healthy lifestyle. After you think about these, come back here and share some ideas with the rest of the group.
Starting our children on the path to living a healthy lifestyle starts from day one, and in my opinion it never stops. I love it when my daughters join for a workout in the garage. I get to share and educate my passion for exercising. I can’t guarantee they’ll grow up being super fit, but it sure does increase the odds.
-Mitchell