From what I can tell, we find ourselves in this situation because of a variety of factors including ease of lifestyle, inactive transportation methods, unwalkable and unfriendly city streets, overly busy lives, focus on faster, cheaper, longer-lasting processed foods and...television. Just kidding. Well, not really-tv does keep us on the couch. I also think crash diets have aided in obesity: We either ride a roller coaster of unsustainable diets or hate the idea of trying to be thin so much that we celebrate fat.
I think policy and zoning really could do something about it. We could institutionalize healthy lunches in our public schools and increase recess time (my mom is a 5th grade teacher and the kids have 25 minutes for a combined lunch/recess); we could push for better park accessibility, walkable sidewalks and car-alternatives. I think, above all, it starts with the kids, because, honestly, they are at a point in their lives when we can still influence them without having to unteach them lifestyle choices.
The following picture is terrifying...
It's hard to believe that primary school children only get 25 minutes for lunch and recess. When I was a youngster I got 1.5 hours. Times have changes. I very much agree with your final points.
ReplyDeleteObesity is a really touchy subject today. With healthy living becoming less of a fad and more of an accepted reality of life, obesity has become a recognized societal problem. Michelle Obama has even taken childhood obesity up as a major goal to reduce.
ReplyDeleteI'd say the cause is probably a combination of everything you listed above. Probably the strongest contributing factor is the hectic life we lead. No one seems to have time to eat a proper lunch or dinner, and so they're stuck with greasy fast food, and have no time to exercise off the excess calories that come with a Big Mac as opposed to a turkey sandwich.
In case anyone is interested, here's an interesting website to look at what is considered "healthy" and "obese" and somewhere in between: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
And by the way...yes, that picture is quite frightening.
DeleteSchool systems are trying to turn things around. I know that in Houston they have altered the lunches served in the public school system to include healthier options and less fried foods. In Fort Bend ISD, in their elementary and middle schools they have gotten rid of vending machines that carry sodas. There are things that schools can do to help encourage children to be more active. You mentioned making longer recesses which is a great idea. PE teachers could educate kids on fun activities that can be done outside.
ReplyDeleteOrganizations like the NFL have taken it upon themselves to travel to communities to promote active lifestyles. They encourage players to give back to the communities by traveling as teams and teaching kids fun exercises they can do to stay active. Even video games are trying to get kids more active (this might just be a marketing ploy to get people to buy their products). People are starting to take this subject more seriously and have just begun to scratch the surface on how to do that.
Dear Blair,
ReplyDeleteTerrifying photo. How did you get into my family archives?
Are we supposed to read into that image to deduce that you propose longer recess, healthier cafeteria options and terrifying children into action?
Jokes aside, the issue of obesity in America is one that has polarized society into camps - even into very extreme camps. I saw an episode of Dr. Oz the other day which dove head-first into a subculture that celebrates obesity as an acceptable and even desirable choice. Dr. Oz had such a difficult time getting through to these morbidly obese women to tell them that, preconceived notions about beauty aside, they were putting themselves at HUGE risk for many health conditions... which would likely lead to the early loss of their lives. I am so on board with your thoughts on combating unhealthy lifestyles at a young age. But I wonder, even with the best policies in place and information available to the masses, what can be done for those who are convinced this very personal decision is purely about beauty? Wicked problem.
It is so scary that kids today are not projected to live longer than their parents. I completely agree that if we are going to cure the obesity epidemic, it will have to start with children. Because of the constant new technology coming out to occupy children while they are at home, school might be our only chance to convince them to live healthy lives. I just hope we are able to implement programs that successfully change how our kids live.
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