Youth Obesity
Youth obesity is at an alarming all time high. Youths of today are finding themselves being more overweight and obese than their counterparts of even 20 years ago. It seems that despite an effort to eat healthy, youth obesity is on the rise.
One of the reasons why there is such a predominance of youth obesity is that people rarely cook any longer. As more families have both parents working, or are comprised of a single adult that is working and taking care of the kids, the objective of breakfast, lunch and dinner have become things to streamline and make easier. Instead of enjoying a family meal, the family is usually scrambling to get home and then maybe to get out to some organized event. The family dinner is often fast food that is loaded with fat.
Years ago, kids ate dinner and then went out to play while adults relaxed. This does not happen that much anymore, especially when it comes to young kids. Parents feel pressure for their kids to compete in organized sports so that the game of kickball in the street is not even considered. Parents feel stressed rushing from game to game. Kids spend more time competing than actually getting exercise. Those kids who are not good in sports may find themselves on the sidelines and not enjoying playing at all.
Computer games are often held culprit for youth obesity, but they are only part of the blame. There has always been some sort of entertainment that was sedentary indoors, but it did not cause obesity. There are some kids that do not get out enough, but this in itself would not cause youth obesity. Youth obesity is directly related to diet and the diet in the United States, despite attempts to market healthy food, is bad. No one wants to cook dinner and everything is marketed for the sake of convenience. Kids today get very little exercise compared to those years ago as anxious parents do not want their kids playing outside without supervision, climbing hills, racing bikes and doing things that kids did years ago.
Schools that do serve hot lunch programs have them imported. The school cafeteria is a thing of the past as it is cheaper to have the lunch brought in than have cafeteria workers cook food. In order for foods to be able to be transported, they are usually frozen and contain preservatives and sodium.
Youth obesity is a growing problem and will continue to grow until people start to slow down a bit, downsize their lifestyle and start teaching their kids to eat a healthy and sensible diet. In addition, kids should be encouraged to play with other kids the games that were played long ago, like tag and hide and seek. Allowing kids to eat home cooked meals and letting them play without it being organized by adults is the best weapon against youth obesity.
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