How to Prevent Obesity in Our Children

Do you remember when our generation was growing up. You walked out of your house and all you saw were kids running around on the streets playing football, hockey, tag and many other physically active games. It didn’t matter what time of year it was, kids were running all over the place. Whether it was on the corner or in the park, they were out tearing it up.

Now let’s fast forward to 2009 when you barely ever see a child out playing like we did. Sure there still kids playing organized sports, but the youths are nowhere to be found. When we were growing up, you didn’t have to be in a baseball league to play baseball. Any day that you walked over to the park with a glove you could find a pick up game. Same can be said of football and hockey, there was always a game somewhere that needed another player.

This downward trend probably got its roots in the late 70’s as video games first came onto the market. Pong came out and all of a sudden, kids weren’t on the streets on Christmas day, they were inside playing this great new video game. As the years progressed, Atari and Intellivision hit the market and you just noticed that you friends were not hanging out as much anymore.

Zoom ahead a few more years to Sega and Playstation, and people playing outside became virtually non-existent. All these kids talk about these days are what game they just got, how to beat a certain level with the cheat codes and what new games are coming out. It is actually not out of the norm for a child to not only have one system, but have 3 or three of these high end gaming systems. That is actually amazing when you consider the actual costs of them.

As all this was happening, there was a noticeable change in the youths of our society. There were getting fatter and fatter. While there were definitely obese children when we were growing up, you are probably hard pressed to remember 5 names that you can put to children in your class that would have been considered obese. That is far from the case now as WebMD reports that about “one out of every five children in the US is overweight or obese.” That is a scary thought.

There are of course more reasons than being sedentary that will result in obesity. The most common reason being genetics. Children that have it in their natural genes are fighting it their whole life and there really is nothing that they can do. However, this same issue was relevant when we were growing up. There are simply not that many people that are genetically inclined to be obese to make up the number that we are faced with today.

What we need to do is get out YOUNG children off of the video games and out playing again. It is such a serious concern that the NFL has actually started a campaign to get children out of the house and playing for just one hour a day. It is amazing that it has come to this but it has.

Parents today need to take an active role in their children’s health. That means making sure that they eat properly and that you supply them with the right toys early on in their lives and introduce them to physical activity. Instead of buying them that hand held video game, buy them a pedal toy that will start to let them enjoy activities that are physical at an early age.

Pedal toys are a great way to have them active and keep their interest in activity that will hopefully keep them in shape and not have them fall into the category of being obese. If you are worried about getting your child on the pedal toy, don’t be because they come in a variety of shapes and sized and also come in some of their favorite television characters.

They can choose a plane, a car, a fire engine and or just a plain old tricycle. Remember how happy when we got our first bike or Big Wheel? This is what we have to get our children back to if we are going to fight of this horrible trend that is sweeping our country. Ride on Toys can be fun for boys and girls.

If you think it is being overstated, you are wrong. When you look at the possible conditions that your child may be susceptible to if they are obese, your heart should skip a beat. Things like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol are but a few, but you can see how serious they are. Each and every one of these conditions can be debilitating.

Take the time with your child and get them involved in physical activities again. Take them shopping for a pedal toy and tell them they can have anyone they want. Imagine the excitement on their face knowing they are going to be able to go home with the exact pedal toy that they choose! It’s the equivalent of your spouse taking you to the car dealership and telling you that you can have your pick. Are you getting the idea! More importantly than putting a smile on your child’s face, they will be well on their way to a much healthier life. And, needless to say, try and limit those visits to the fast food places, and encourage healthy eating habits.