Childhood obesity in Zion

[_Doctor Steuss]

Hey Blixa:

Who is the lovely lady in your avatar?

Some pin up girl I got somewhere online. Seriously, I don't remember.

If you don’t change that avatar soon, I’m going to have some repenting to do.

Actually, one of my friends (or to be more exact, the girlfriend of one of my friends...) is a pinup. http://www.pinupordie.com

[_ajax18]

I think it's good that the Church has basketball courts in their stake centers. Couple that with Joseph Smith's often talked about love of athletics (something very uncharacteristic of a prophet) and I would say the Church does a better job than most Church's at helping to fight obesity. It's also good for young boys the chance to play in Church leagues when those kind of chances in schools seem to be reserved for only a few athletically elite especially in urban America. I know my sisters do a lot of dancing out in UT valley and I think that's a really good thing as well.

Where I think they start to loose out is in demanding that grown men spend their time in no other way than Church, Family, and work, and in that order. Playing a game of basketball once or twice a week seems to be out of the question, with some of these crazy taskmasters.

[_barrelomonkeys]

If you don’t change that avatar soon, I’m going to have some repenting to do.

Actually, one of my friends (or to be more exact, the girlfriend of one of my friends...) is a pinup. http://www.pinupordie.com

That avatar is distracting. Steuss your friend of your friend is also on atomicpinup.com and she has more pictures there.

As for the topic. I imagine they're getting heavier because of the busy lifestyle and eating fast food. Just like the rest of America.

[_Mr. Coffee]

Well, not to get off on a bit of a jag.... But...


I can tell you why a lot of kids and teens (and adults for that matter) are getting fat. It's not because of their religion. last time I looked, I never heard of a serious religion that told it's members to go forth and become tubby.

The problem rests in the laps of both the parents and our education system. The parents are either 1. fat themselves, 2. don't care if their kids get fat, 3. are to weak willed to assert themselves in order to get their kid to exercise or eat healthy, or a combination of the three. The schools for a long time now have been placing less and less emphisis on PE and Health classes.

Easy way to fix this...

Every single school in the land that recieves a single dime of tax revanue has to start enforcing a physical fitness standard as a graduation requirment. Nothing extreme, say 40 push ups, 40 sit ups, and run a mile in under 9 minutes. The only people excused from this would be those that have some sort of legitimate physical handicap that prevents them from performing any of the exercises.

Also, PE classes will stop being an hour of kids playing ball games. Instead, it'll be a required solid hour of cardio and weight training (alternating days or emphasis on one or the other depending on the student's abilities). PE teachers will all be required to be prior-service military, preferably Drill Instructors (I.E. people that actually are physically fit and know who to conduct PT). Ideally, the PT classes would happen with in the first hour of the school day.

And yes, those little darling will be required to hit the shower afterwards so they don't stink up the school.

All schools will remove snack food and soda. All school lunches will be prepared under the supervision of a qualified nutritional specialist with an eye towards low carb/fat-high protien diet for the students.

And if "mommy and daddy" have a problem with the state taking a proactive role in the health of our nations children, then they can talk to an investigator from Family Services while said investigator is making sure if they are even fit parents.


I've said it before and I'll say it again... Baring a legitimate medical condition, the only excuse for being a fatbody is laziness and gluttony.

[_personage]

I have to say that I agree with pretty much everything you said about fitness training in school Mr. Coffee. I think we could take out the military service requirement though. I think in the long run the kids would be more likely to maintain a good exercise program as adults too.
I also think you make a good point about the types of exercises they should do in those classes. I remember plaing kick ball in P.E. as a kid. How taxing.

[_The Nehor]

My solution would be to shorten the school day and let kids play.

The reason I didn't get fat as a kid is because my friends and I were out having a good time. Playing war on the hill, wrestling matchs, climbing trees, playing games. If you structure Physical Activity it becomes something kids hate. I started gaining weight and was less fit when PE replaced recess. It stopped being about having fun and the sheer thrill of moving and was instead about drudgery.

I reversed the trend when I got interested in tennis and swimming again.

Part of the problem is kids don't have anywhere to just run off and play and build forts anymore. The hill I used to play on was torn apart. Sad, Sad, Sad.....

[_Runtu]

My solution would be to shorten the school day and let kids play.

The reason I didn't get fat as a kid is because my friends and I were out having a good time. Playing war on the hill, wrestling matchs, climbing trees, playing games. If you structure Physical Activity it becomes something kids hate. I started gaining weight and was less fit when PE replaced recess. It stopped being about having fun and the sheer thrill of moving and was instead about drudgery.

I reversed the trend when I got interested in tennis and swimming again.

Part of the problem is kids don't have anywhere to just run off and play and build forts anymore. The hill I used to play on was torn apart. Sad, Sad, Sad.....

One of the things that has me happy this summer is that my son and his friends spend almost every day in the woods behind our house working on their fort, which at this point is more like a treehouse. But they're out there having a great time and staying away from the TV and the computer.

[_Mr. Coffee]

My solution would be to shorten the school day and let kids play.

The problem with this is that now the kids are left to play with as much supervision as their parents can be arsed to give. You'll have your smattering of active children who will go outside and do some sort of physical activity, but you'll have that many more who will use the extra time afforded by a shortened school day to sit on their ever widening asses watching the TV.

If you structure Physical Activity it becomes something kids hate. I started gaining weight and was less fit when PE replaced recess.

I think you're misunderstanding me. My guidelines for improving national health would become efective from the junior high level onwards. Last time I checked, they didn't have "recess" at those levels of school. Also, at those levels of school you can no start enforcing harder graduation requirments and make them stick.

It stopped being about having fun and the sheer thrill of moving and was instead about drudgery.

PT can be fun. That's one of the reasons why I want former military personnel who actually know how to conduct a good PT program and know how to motivate people to conduct the PE classes.

And before some idiot starts in about "Oh, motivate? You mean yell and cuss at the kids?", no, that's not what I mean at all. I mean motivate them by providing an example and working with the student to help the student set and acchieve goals. You can do that without dogcussing them or threatening them.

Although some hardcases might need a swift kick in the butt, but that should be saved for "special" cases.

Part of the problem is kids don't have anywhere to just run off and play and build forts anymore. The hill I used to play on was torn apart. Sad, Sad, Sad.....

Just because you build them a park doesn't mean they will play on it. Remember how I said that part of the problem is the parents? I'mn willing to bet money that if you grab four fat kids at random off the street you'll find parents that fit under one or more of the catagories I detailed about in at least three of those kids homes.

Basically, the point is this. If the parents either cannot or will not provide a positive example for their children, then it falls to the state to provide it for them.

[_Blixa]

If you don’t change that avatar soon, I’m going to have some repenting to do.

Sorry. Here's an old friend of runtu's. Hope he recognizes her...

[_The Nehor]

I don't think it's the state's job to step in for idiot parents at that level. Plus that kind of training would work for a while but eventually the best way to get people fit is to let them find something they enjoy, not enforce requirements.