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/.