Dear Ramsey residents,
Did you know that 33% of Americans are obese or overweight? That means 1 in every 3 people. In a town of around 14,000 people that means that 4,667 are in that category. Of course that total number doesn’t differentiate adults from children, but the percentage doesn’t change.
Did you know that more and more kids are overweight these days? Why is that? Video games? Computers? Television? It is easy to pass blame and kids today are a bit different, but not that much.
I can remember as a kid I played basketball everyday for most of my teenage life. Thats just what we did. I didn’t have a computer, laptop, or even a gaming system. At that time I didn’t want a Playstation (yes that was what was out) because I was never home to use it.
I rode my bike a lot, because my mother worked and my parents were separated. I also lived about a 25 minute bike ride to my friends. When I got there, we rode down the street and played basketball. The only thing that changed when I got my license was that I didn’t have to ride a bike.
But you see, basketball was a huge part of Indiana. Similar to soccer here I would suspect. Basketball isn’t really popular, because I’ve found that the courts at Finch Park are always empty. Disappointing.
Of course basketball isn’t the cure to childrens’ weight gain. But what is? As parents, do we expect our kids to be super active if we aren’t? How many parents work all day and then come home and just want to relax? We have to lead by example. Regular exercise doesn’t make you tired, it actually cranks up your energy level.
People who come to my bootcamp enter tired perhaps, but by the end they are bouncing off the walls with energy. But this post isn’t about my boot camps (though they are awesome). Rather its about setting examples for our children.
Kids aren’t going to eat vegetables if mom or dad doesn’t. And kids will eat them if you want them to. Don’t forget, we all remember what school was like with teasing and bullying. Overweight kids are the end of that torment alot more than skinny ones unfortunately.
Check out this video from CBS News and pay attention to the part with the younger children.
So how do you feel about kids and their health? Is it going down the toilet? Whos to blame? What are some tips you would use or like to try?
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When I have kids I am going to make sure they stay healthy and lean