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| Take Time To Care
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| Well, it looks like we’ve finally succeeded in re-creating kids in our own likeness as pudgy kids spend their time parked in front of a computer screen, the only exercise they get is reaching for another bag of trans fats—just like Mom and Dad.
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Call them home fries—pint-sized versions of the couch potato—kids who have the dubious distinction of being as sedentary as many adults, and who tend to be even more resistant to exercise.
The guidelines are simple enough: Children require between 60 and 90 minutes of physical activity a day to maintain optimum health, instead they spend every spare moment harnessed to a computer or television set.
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Electronic games have replaced time-honored outdoor pursuits such as tag and chase as children’s favorite pastimes. Ironically, those very games and others such as hide-and-go-seek, and hopscotch are all that children need to keep fit.
Kids don’t require structured training regimes, just physical play. Instead of hanging from a tree swing, however, children surf the net while eating junk food.
“Child obesity is a huge public health issue,” comments Dr. Gary Goldfield, a psychologist and research institute investigator at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.
“One in three children is overweight or obese, and this may be the first generation in hundreds of years that will die sooner than their parents. The current projections are that in 20 years one in three kids will have Type 2 Diabetes in adulthood. Unless the situation changes dramatically it’s going to be absolutely devastating for our public health care system.”
The concept of monsters still resonates among children who are firmly in the grasp of a two-headed one comprised of junk food and video games.
Problem is, they love this obtuse creature, and their parents do too. It acts as a babysitter, satisfying the needs of all household members. Dr.Goldfield, lamenting the fact that kids would rather play on a computer than venture outside, deems as “toxic” the current social environment, for the ways it instills poor health habits in both adults and children.
What’s the remedy? He suggests parents barter for exercise—restrict access to television unless junior clambers around the monkey bars for an hour or so.
A recent study Dr.Goldfield conducted proved the effectiveness of such a tactic—overweight children forced to earn viewing time through play lost weight and ate better.
“Pick a valued activity like television and use it as a reward for behavior performed less frequently,” advises Dr.Goldfield. “Parents use this strategy all the time, utilizing one behavior to reward another. There’s no reason not to do it in respect to exercise.”
Forty per cent of our individual makeup is genetic, meaning that obesity is not predestined.
According to Dr.Goldfield, dietary and lifestyle habits formed during childhood track into adulthood, which is another reason he stresses the need for parents to act decisively when their kids overindulge.
“Family-based intervention is the way to go and now is the treatment of choice. Research has shown it’s far more effective getting the parents involved. Kids naturally want to please their parents. If the parents aren’t on board, it’s a recipe for disaster. They can’t expect much of a commitment from their children if they’re still loading the house with junk food. One of our principles is to get most of the junk food out of the house. That way parents don’t make it a battle of willpower because willpower almost always loses. We’re not saying never eat junk food, we’re saying pre-plan for it, eat it in moderation, and eat it outside the household.”
Obese children are just as physically handicapped as overweight adults. Exercise is exceedingly difficult for them. They become resigned to their size, just as adults do. And if their parents are overweight as well, they assume the family is naturally obese.
Changing their attitude is a long and arduous task. Dr. Goldfield suggests smothering them with praise after the successful completion of an exercise: “Children require a lot of encouragement, and a lot of positive reinforcement. You have to educate them that it’s going to take time to see a change.”
Being a child is no longer the simple proposition it once was, with parents fearing for their safety, and schoolwork demanding more of their free time. And if there’s a modern day equivalent to the ball and chain, it’s computers and video games.
Change, as children’s waistlines attest, is sometimes too readily embraced.
At a Standstill:
Any attempt to reverse the growing problem of childhood obesity is plagued with obstacles that block improvement. Among them:
- Children no longer walk to school.
- Physical education programs at many schools are either curtailed or cancelled.
- After-school activities are restricted to television viewing, computer games and snacking.
- Parents set a poor example by refusing to exercise themselves.
- Junk food is available both at school and home.
- Safety concerns limit children’s outdoor activities.
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