Kids and Fitness
By Susan Mann, MA, LPT, CSTS, CGFI
Licensed Physical Therapist
Certified Strength Training Specialist
Certifed Golf Fitness Instructor
Certfied Pilates Instructor
Consider the sedentary nature of childhood, spending more than two hours daily with the compute and TV. Obesity in children is increasing at alarming rates.
Think of the implications of Juvenile Diabetes, with associated early onset of heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, and retinal disease. General Obesity increases the load on the heart, making it more difficult for children to play and move about, turning inactivity into a viscous cycle. Additional research indicates that obesity increases an individual's risk for cancer. Along with obesity comes social alienation, and reduced levels of self-esteem. Increased weight bearing on the joints and lack of calcium intake leads to early degenerative joint disease and osteoporosis.
Parents and children alike need a "Wake Up Call" to prevent the physical degeneration of a new generation. The economic implications of poor health in childhood, can lead to poor health in adulthood, causing lost time from work, family demoralization, and staggering health care costs.
What can be done about it? Parents need to take the responsibility to look at their own health habits, modeling healthy eating, exercise, and diversions away from the TV and computer.
A drastic measure would be to pull the plug on the TV or limit TV and Computer time combined to less than two hours per day. Get the kids involved in community sports leagues, starting at an early age. Pick up a County Parks and Recreation Calendar, and encourage your kids to participate in activities that include running, bicycling, jumping, catching, throwing, balancing. Spend time at the playground, at the tennis, basketball courts, and at the swimming pool. Teaching your child to be physically active will develop healthy habits, enjoyment, and team building skills.
Encourage healthy eating by reducing family trips to fast food restaurants once per week or less. Prepare meals at home. Avoid frozen prepared dinners that add extra salt and calories. Prepare main courses over the weekend, and place them in the refrigerator or freezer, then microwave them when needed. Try crock-pot meals including meat and vegetables. Try some meatless meals, reducing cholesterol intake. Quiz your kids as to what they ate at school; educate them in healthy food choices.
Be pro active, and lobby to remove soda machines in the schools. Work with the county school board, to increase the variety of healthy food choices served in the school cafeterias. Work with local government and encourage the re-introduction, of year round, physical education, into the school systems, for all age groups.
Pack your kids lunches with a variety of healthy foods including fresh fruit, and vegetables. Juice boxes are convenient, but check the sugar, and calorie content to avoid empty calories. Sports drinks add too much salt. Ask day care centers to provide refrigeration for milk, rather than juices.
When your child is 13 encourage him to go to the gym to participate in aerobic training and free weight lifting. There are weight machines on the market built to accommodate the smaller frames of children, with lower weight plate progressions. Ask a family oriented fitness center to consider introducing a kid's fitness program, with trained professionals administering the program.
The futures for our children, and grandchildren can be bright. Grandparent buys your grandchild a bike! Pay for your grandchild's attendance to an outdoor summer camp, sports camp, or for a community sport league participation. Business owners, help sponsor a kid's sports team. Volunteer your time as a coach. Contribute to a healthier America , today!
Susan Mann, MA,LPT,CSTS,CGFI is the owner of Pilates Center of Naples, Fla. She's a certified Pilates instructor in the West Coast Technique, a certified strength maning specialist and golf fitness instructor.
