A Wake Up Call for Parents

As an adult, you are probably well aware why you need to be active. However, you may not know to what extent obesity and sedentary living is affecting our youth. More than 60% of children do not exercise on a regular basis. A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study from 2006 found that daily physical education classes are offered in just 3.8% of elementary schools, 7.9% of middle schools, and 2.1% of high schools. It is little wonder that the CDC also finds at least 15% of American children and teens are now overweight — more than triple the number in 1970. These numbers have very serious implications:

• Children are being diagnosed at an alarming rate with Type 2 Diabetes — a disease previously associated exclusively with middle aged or senior adults.
• Obesity, now classified as an epidemic disease, holds more harm for today’s children than exposure to tobacco, drugs, and alcohol combined.
• Today’s kids have a shorter life expectancy than their parents — the first time ever in U.S. history.

Involving your kids in a health-promoting lifestyle should be a high priority for every caring parent. However if you want fit and healthy kids, you should at least be on the path to getting fit and healthy yourself. Many studies have shown that family environment is one of the strongest predictors of childhood obesity.