To our children’s future

After researching childhood obesity in public schools the last few months I have really learned a lot.  I first had to learn how to use the school database and the internet to find information on my topic. After some time and some help I have made it to the end though and could not be happier with the blog topic I chose.  It is an issue that hits very close to home having two young children of my own, one of whom goes to public school and the other only a couple years away.  Although I am not very happy with my results I found, I am still upbeat that changes are on the way.

            Overall my research has proven to me that public schools do play a major role in childhood obesity with their lack of nutritious meals, lack of daily exercise and sales of high calorie snacks and drinks to our children for their monetary gain.  I think what the schools don’t understand is that unhealthy children will become unhealthy adults one day, who will end up costing more money than they could ever imagine by making medical insurance go up and disability benefits and social security go down.

            Also children learn behaviors at such a young age and living a healthy and nutritious lifestyle should be on the top of our list.  What these children learn at such a young age will become a part of who they our later in life.  Let’s give each child a good beginning and a look towards a brighter and happier future.

           

               

Breaking the cycle

             When it comes to childhood obesity everyone has to become aware of bad eating habits and lack of exercise.  I think sometimes we forget how impressionable children are at such a young age.  Everyday our children learn new things just from seeing someone else do them.  It is a battle we not only have to fight in school but at home and in daycare as well. 

             It’s a hard thing to imagine your child being overweight especially with younger children but “in one survey, 49 percent of parents whose kids were overweight thought they were average size” (Childhood, n. d.).  Studies show the more weight a child gains before age 2 the heavier they will likely be as an adult and if one or both parents our overweight the greater risk their child will become obese (Childhood, n. d.).   Eating and exercise learned in childhood tend to last a lifetime (Childhood, n. d.).

           Some “food rules” for parents to teach healthy habits to children our only give your child 100% real juice, let your child decide when they are full, serve whole grains, non-fat  and low fat dairy, reduce empty calorie intake and eat healthy yourself (Childhood, n. d.).  I agree children should be able to enjoy fast food or ice cream every now and again but it seems to be a common occurrence to eat these foods on a regular basis for some families and it really is having lasting effects on our children’s health.

          Exercise and an active lifestyle is also something we as parents need to focus on.  Some exercise “rules to live by” are  let your children see you being active, be creative and find activities you can do inside as well as outside, let the games grow with your child, encourage your child to show off his or her moving skills, and get in to the action and play with your children (Childhood, n. d.).  All of these things are great for keeping your children active and also yourself.  Take some time out of your busy hectic lifestyle and take a walk with your children.  It will be things your children remember and the exercise will just become a part of their life as they grow older.

              I myself know how difficult it can be to find the time to cook healthy meals and exercise with my family especially during the work week but sometimes it doesn’t take much time.  I find ways to exercise with my children by playing a game of basketball after dinner or by just taking a walk when the weather is nice.  We also play follow the leader inside and work out by playing games on the wii.   I try to encourage my children to eat healthy by making cooking fun and letting them make choices as to which vegetable we eat that night.  I also try to treat my kids with cantaloupe or watermelon instead of sugary cookies or ice cream.  Not to say they don’t get the occasional treat. 
         We can all make a difference in our children’s life by making some small but significant changes.  We need to model good behavior for our children to follow and to be sure we ourselves are leading healthy lifestyles. Overall everyone can make a difference and children can still have the occasional treat but with a little exercise to follow. 

                       

Childhood obesity. (n. d.)Parenting Magazine . Retrieved April 30, 2011, from: http://www.parenting.com/article/childhood-obesity.

               

               

Money wins again over healthy lifestyle choices for our children. 

            A lot of schools are now teaching Spanish in classrooms because when children our younger it is easier for them to learn.  Imagine if we took that approach to learning healthy lifestyle choices when it comes to healthy food choices and daily exercise.  The only excuse I keep hearing is it cost too much money for us to make sure our children our healthy.  Once again money trumps P.E. from public school systems where are children spend the majority of their time from age 4 to age 18.  Just a current reminder of how little health is a concern for the people who should be doing everything they can to make sure our children stay healthy and live long healthy lives.

            As I was looking through the Richmond Times Dispatch online this morning I came across an article titled “McDonnell rejects PE requirements for students”.  Stating Bob McDonnell veto’s a bill for 150 hours a week of PE in for public elementary and middle schools (Meola, 2011).  Bob McDonnell vetoed the bill saying it was not an admirable fat fighting objective and saying it was an unfunded mandate he would not feel comfortable with (Meola, 2011). 

Governor Bob McDonnell

           

            Health advocacy groups are pushing for the bill to become law to help fight childhood obesity (Meola, 2011).  Lawmakers are unable to override this veto because the House voted 55-40 (Meola, 2011).   Sen. Ralph Northam who says he will do anything for children’s health is disappointed with the veto but he understands Governor McDonnell’s decision (Meola, 2011).  McDonnell says he agrees with the goal of the bill but not the million dollar approach (Meola, 2011).  “The Virginia chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association said McDonnell "missed an unprecedented opportunity to help address childhood obesity, a pressing and costly public health crisis”” (Meola, 2011). According to healthy advocacy groups nearly one in three children in the state of VA our overweight or obese (Meola, 2011). McDonnell acknowledges the efforts and says he will work on the issue over the next year and also says “government alone can’t slim down children” (Meola, 2011)

            I have a hard time understanding why money trumps healthy children who will become unhealthy adults which will cost more than millions of dollars in healthcare each year.  Overall money seems to be the main issue in fighting childhood obesity in our public school systems.  If you want this to change I urge you to write to your local representative and fight for your child’s right to be healthy.

Meola, O. (2011, March 25). McDonnell rejects PE requirement for students. Times Dispatch. (Richmond). Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2011/mar/25/8/tdmain01-mcdonnell-rejects-pe-requirement-for-stud-ar-926759/.

Image: Governor McDonnell (2011, March 25).  Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2011/mar/25/8/tdmain01-mcdonnell-rejects-pe-requirement-for-stud-ar-926759/.

Is physical education and health less important than math or science class?

            Childhood obesity in the public school systems not only comes from the high fat and high sugar foods that are being served for breakfast, lunch, for snacks from vending machines but also a lack of gym and physical education classes.  Some schools even making gym class an elective instead of a mandatory class, adding fuel to the already burning fire of teaching our children un-healthy life lessons.

            Not only are we feeding our children high fat and high sugar foods for breakfast, lunch, and snacks in school but gym and recess have recently become something of little or non-existent.  “According to the U.S. Surgeon General, only one half of U.S. children get regular exercise, and one fourth don’t take part in physical activity at all”(Worsnop,1997).

Physical education remains on the top of the chopping block when school funding gets tight and a lot of people say even when there are physical education classes in school most of the time is spent getting dressed, listening to instructions and waiting to take part in an activity (Worshop,1997).  Studies also show that children who are physically active do better in school, are less likely to get pregnant or suffer from depression and more likely to stay in school(Worsnop,1997).

Some schools have begun to offer different activities such as in line skating, dance, and tennis so that kids can come right in and choose what they would enjoy doing, making it easier for kids to exercise because they are choosing things that they enjoy and can still participate in as they become adults (Worsnop,1997). Also understanding that when children are less active they become adults who are less likely to be active also causing major concerns in health that are associated with being overweight(Worsnop,1997).       

 Electronics is another major contributor to children being overweight and not wanting to participate in physical fitness activities (Worsnop,1997).  Children choose computers, T.V. and video games over spending time playing sports or being outside riding bikes.  Some even say we are becoming too smart to be in shape (Worsnop,1997).  Saying over the years we have become so consumed with making technology to make up for physical movement such as remote control garage openers or remote car starters instead of taking two minutes to walk outside and open your garage or starting your car(Worsnop,1997).

People should look at school physical education as an introductory course for lifelong physical activity (Worsnop, 1997).  Overweight children are more than likely going to become overweight adults putting a higher strain on medical insurance, medicare and medicaid and causing major health problems.  Children need to learn at an early age how important physical education and physical activity are so that they can become adults who know the importance of being physically fit and the importance of enjoying physical activity making for a healthier and longer life.

Worsnop, R. L. (1997, September 26). Youth fitness. CQ Researcher, 7, 841-864. Retrieved from CQ Researcher on March 7, 2011.

 

Healthy Eating Habits or a Lifetime of Confusion?

       Childhood obesity has risen dramatically over the past decade and continues to plague our nation. Since children spend a majority of waking hours in school some believe that soda and vending machines are to blame along with nutrient lacking school lunches. 

“Competitive” food being served in a high school cafeteria.

Since the 1940’s schools themselves have been responsible for providing lunch, often taking much criticism for lack of nutritional value in the meal that for most kids is the most important meal of the day.   While lunches have improved over the years, vending machines become more and more of a normal staple in the school cafeteria and hallways. Even “competitive” food vendors are setting up shop in a lot of our high schools and junior high school cafeterias. 

We are sending children mixed messages by telling them to eat healthy and to make healthy choices but when the lunch bell rings we send them to a cafeteria filled with high fat and sugary foods.  Schools are even signing contracts with top “competitive” food and drink vendors stating that the funds will help to pay for things at the schools that have recently been cut back due to the financial crisis our country has been facing.  While some support these money making ventures other’s believe our children’s our in great danger of health problems now and later on during life.  Type ll Diabetes and other obesity related illnesses are on the rise and schools are steadily teaching poor eating habits out of the classroom while trying to teach good eating habits in the classroom.

            Supporters of revenue making vending machines and “competitive” food say that they believe children will find other ways to get junk food and sodas if the schools don’t provide it.  Which they say then becomes a safety concern of children leaving school during lunch breaks and being injured.  Even though everyone doesn’t agree with making money off of selling junk food and encouraging bad eating habits to our children they just simply don’t know any other way to raise the kind of money these schools need. 

            So while it is easy to sit back and criticize it is also easy to understand where both sides of this argument our coming from.  On one hand we our giving our children too many unhealthy food and drink options so that schools can have more money for the school system while also teaching our kids to make healthy eating habits by not eating high sugar and high fat foods so that they can live a long and healthy life. 

Junk food in schools. (2007, January 24). Issues & Controversies On File. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services,  Retrieved February 22, 2011, from the Issues & Controversies Database.

Money over Health?

Money over health?

            My lunch in high school ranged from about eight to ten dollars on any given day.  I always chose two servings of cheese fries and a slice of Pizza Hut pizza usually washed down by a large soft drink and all of this was served from the convenience of my high school cafeteria.  Not only was it costly to my parents wallet but to my overall eating habits and health.  Not to mention, gym was an option class meaning you could choose a different class instead of gym.  I gained 10lbs alone my freshmen year of high school.  The school system is not only robbing parents of their money but also their children’s health. 

The number of overweight adolescents has tripled over the last 20 years (Greenblatt, 2003).  Greenblatt states “Physical education is being dropped by schools even as fattening snack foods are welcomed onto campus.  And children are spending more time playing computer games than sports.”  We are sending our children a message that it is ok to eat and drink high sugar foods while not staying physically fit by exercising or by engaging in daily activity.  Most agree that money is the biggest factor to selling soft drinks and fast food chains in school.  Schools across the country rely on soft drink vendors for an important source of revenue (Greenblatt, 2003).  The article Obesity Epidemic, Can Americans Change their Self-Destructive habits by Alan Greenblatt hits on many reasons obesity could be on the rise but it focuses more on poor food and drink choices that start in the school system. 

I myself believe the article was very informative in reinforcing how we as a society make it acceptable to be medically obese.  We send our children to school where money is being made by our children making poor food and drink choices.  I think school does play a major role in childhood obesity.  Changes in our public school systems need to be made across America to ensure our children are learning to make good food, drink and exercise choices to ensure our children remain healthy.  I just hope something happens soon so the rising number of children becoming obese will begin to drop and that children learn how to make the best decisions to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Greenblatt, A. (2003, January 31). Obesity epidemic. CQ Researcher, 13, 73-104. Retrieved February 5, 2011from the CQ Reasearcher Database.

Childhood Obesity in the Public School System

Childhood Obesity in the Public School System

My son and I on a field trip to DC.  My children are the reason I feel so strongly about this subject.

When I became a mother in the summer of 2005, I knew that I would do anything to keep my child happy and healthy.  When my doctor had told me breastfeeding would provide my child with antibodies to fight off sickness and disease and that it also had more nutrients and less allergic reactions then formula, I had no questions as to what choice I would be making for my own baby, needless to say I breastfed.  

When my son was old enough to start eating baby food, I visited his pediatrician again, this time discussing the more healthful benefits in making and freezing my own baby food instead of using prepackaged baby food you would find in your grocery store so of course I made my own. 

I guess what I am trying to say is most of us as parents do what we can to  ensure our children are eating healthy, hitting developmental milestones and getting enough exercise to keep their little bodies as healthy as possible.  Shouldn’t we expect the same from the public school system where are children will spend more than 70% of their time from the very young age of 5 until the age of adulthood at 18 years old?  Also knowing that during this time, children will either learn healthy or unhealthy ways to eat and exercise that they will look back to for the rest of their lives.

The things we do as parents to ensure our children our healthy goes way beyond what most of us as parents even do for ourselves.  At some point in almost all of our children’s lives they will enter into school where we then, as parents, hand over a huge portion of our children’s safety and health to the hands of the public school system, which is not an easy thing to do considering the rising amount of school age children who are now fighting childhood obesity.  There are many reasons that could be causing such an epidemic, and I believe most of it is coming from school provided breakfast, lunch, snacks and lack of daily exercise.