The news is rampant with the heralding of a new epidemic – childhood obesity. While I am aware that children do not, for the most part, play outside in the neighborhood in the same way I did when I was a child and they have access to a LOT of technological distractions that I did not have as a child, I would like to be a voice of balance as we assess our children’s health.
I found a wonderful website which may give you some insight into this and other questions. It also has a Children’s page and a Teen’s page! http://kidshealth.org/ is where you will be able to find some great information.
As I work with children here at the center and watch children running around on playgrounds of our local schools, I find the GREAT percentage of children seem to be strong, active and, at least visually, are not obese. I am not a physician, nor am I trying to negate the importance of vigorous activity as a consistent reality in our children’s lives. I want to make sure we do not walk in fear but in factual information.
One of the guidelines I found in several sources was to make sure our children are engaging in 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each day – 7 days a week. This should include aerobic activity, bone strengthening activity and muscle building activity. If you have ever watched children on the playground, you will have noticed that these three catagories often are involved in the same activity.
So, in summary, wise parents and care givers make sure their children have ample opportunity each day to run, jump, climb, dance, skip, balance, lift, push, pull, participate in sports, gymnastics, swim, hike, etc. They also strictly limit the amount of TV and computer or hand-held game time. To paraphrase an old adage – 60 minutes a day keeps love-handles away! And builds a life-long enjoyment of all the benefits of a strong, healthy body!
Have fun out there! Love Tanya
