Let’s work together to help kids get fit

Twenty years ago, Dave Hubbard predicted that the “Dumpling Decade” was coming. Much to his dismay he was correct—it’s here big time! It was not a difficult prediction to make based on even a casual observation of how kids eat, and how little they move.

Obesity now affects approximately 60 million people in the United States. Over one-third of women between the ages of 20 and 74 are obese. More than 108 million adults are either obese or overweight. This means roughly 3 out of 5 Americans carry an unhealthy amount of excess weight.

Childhood obesity is rapidly on the rise. It now outranks all other health problems as the number one concern for children in the United States. Obesity rates among ages 12 to 19 have more than tripled since 1980. Equally disturbing is the fact that stress now ranks among the top ten child health problems in America. We are convinced that three things are the leading contributors to the rise in childhood obesity: Decline in physical activity at home and school, invasion of technology, and fast empty calories.

With obesity, comes the increased risk of diseases such as high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, heart disease, and breast, colon, and prostate cancer. In addition, obesity has been linked to many mental health conditions. Health experts say that even losing 10 to 15 percent of your body weight can dramatically decrease the risk of developing these serious conditions.

Kids today are simply not moving like they used to. With TV and the internet−push button this and push button that−we now have far too many kids who can navigate the internet with ease but can’t skip rope or do a chin-up to save their life! Add to all that the fact that children today are eating three times the number of calories they actually need, with most of them nutrition-less and empty calories, and it is easy to see why we have an epidemic on our hands. Research shows that teenage boys spend on average around 58 minutes a day playing video games. Girls were only slightly behind at 44 minutes a day. USA Today reports that teens spend about 16 percent of their time each day surfing the Internet or e-mailing. And then there is television, Twitter and texting!