It’s a sad fact of American life that we have a childhood obesity epidemic on our hands. This might be the first generation where parents will out live their own of children. According to the CDC, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years.* The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years has increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008.* The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.* Obese youth are more likely to have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and 70% of obese youth ages 5-17 years old have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.*
There are many more statistics that I could give you, but the main point is that our kids are becoming more and more sedentary, eating more and more processed foods, and as a result, their quality of life is dwindling at an alarming rate.
I believe every child deserves the right to a happy and healthy life. This is part of the reason that I became an elementary school teacher more than 10 years ago. (I have been teaching Kindergarten for the last 5 years). I feel very strongly that without access to healthy food and exercise, my students’ chances of being healthy or happy greatly decrease; this in turn will and does effect their ability to achieve academically, physically, and socially speaking.
With all the devastating budget cuts to education that directly cut into Physical Education programs, added with the processed, sugar and fat laden food that kids are served daily in school cafeterias around the country, how do we ensure that our children do not become another statistic?
One of the solutions is getting back to basics when it comes to exercise. Kids naturally love to play and move their bodies; they are hardwired to move! I think we have forgotten this in the age of video games, the internet, and nonstop TV programming. Our kids are the unfortunate victim of our lapse of memory! The great news is that kids don’t need fancy equipment or games to get excited about moving. They just need the outdoors and maybe some simple resources like a playground, basketball, football, yoga mat, or maybe a jump rope.
Speaking of jump ropes, one of my favorite school events that helps get kids moving and raises their awareness about heart disease is Jump For Heart, a fundraising event created by the American Heart Association (AHA). Here’s how it works: leading up to the actual Jump For Heart event, students receive valuable info on heart disease and its prevention from their teachers. They can also fundraise for the AHA and earn prizes. On the day of the event, each grade level participates in a variety of jump rope games for about 25 minutes. Students are also encouraged to wear red in honor of the event.
Each year, I watch my students get so excited about the event. The beauty is that it is insanely simple. Fun music, jump ropes, teachers and students; that’s all that’s really required. I don’t really care if my students fundraise or not. I just care that they are getting excited about exercise, learning how to care for themselves, and are having fun! (I see this same excitement for Marathon Kids, a six-month running program for kids in grades K-5 that I will share with you in another post soon!)
Jump for Heart proves that exercise for kids does not have to be complicated or expensive (and it doesn’t have to be for you either). Simply getting our kids outdoors and letting them play can do wonders for not only allowing their bodies to move and play, but for their imaginations as well. Our video game generation of kids are losing out! Remember when we were kids and we would stay outside playing until we HAD to come home? Let’s get back to this and make daily movement and play come back in style!
Think back…what outdoor games did you love to play as a child? What simple low cost to no cost activities could you do with your children or a child you love that can get them moving?
* Statistics courtesy of the CDC.
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