Childhood obesity starts at home

 Being a fitness professional, I am constantly reading research, going to workshops and webinars to learn, stay up-to-date and grow so I am able to have all the tools available to help each and every individual, situation and circumstance that come to me. The other day I was on a webinar about Childhood obesity and getting children active again. This being one of my BIGGEST concerns, I did a Vlog after watching it because I was infuriated! After doing the Vlog and taking a few days to re-evaluate the situation, I decided that this would be my next subject to blog about.

Here are some statistics…… 17% of children between the ages of 6-11 are obese in America 80% of those will become obese as adults 70% of those children will have cardiovascular diseases There were many stats being thrown out there but the one that stuck with me is that only 4% of schools in the US offer PE. If we could get kids to have at least 1 hour a day of activity we could decrease childhood obesity by 10% which is a significant amount and I completely agree, but here is the thing………YES we need PE in our schools BUT this should all be starting at HOME!! Kids are mirroring us as adults. They do not know any better. You eat poorly……they eat poorly. You are sitting on the couch watching TV….guess what? Parents should be educating their children at home. Not letting the kids control what they are going to do or not going to do. Video games should not be allowed for any more than an hour. Make kids go be kids and PLAY outside!! What happened to that concept? I remember growing up, we were not allowed back in the house until sun down. Why has that stopped? Another HUGE factor is nutrition!! There are actually kids out there that have no idea what a proper meal is. They are living on processed and fast food because it is fast and easy. Well, news flash…..it’s also killing our future and statistics show that our kids will not outlive us. How sad is that? Parent’s, it is OUR job to either take the time to make a proper meal with all fresh, clean and nutritional foods each day. Set an example; teach children GOOD, HEALTHY HABITS that they will take into adulthood. Go out and play with your kids. Throw the ball around, make up cool, fun games that everyone can enjoy. Go for a family walk together and chat about your days. We are surrounded by electronics wherever we go so leave the distractions at home and enjoy each other’s time. This is not difficult, this is life and this is our future. It’s not too late to turn this around. Only you can do it and it’s your child’s life at stake. Show them that you are making yourself healthy and they will follow. It may be difficult at first and honestly, you will struggle making change but it IS worth it! It’s time for change. Our future depends on it!