Look out on an elementary school playground. What do you see? I see kids running around playing basketball, dodge ball or on the swing set having a good time. Among those groups of kids are the athletes, the ballerinas, as well as the kids who enjoy lunch more than they do recess. Children seem to enjoy lunch/snack time more than they do going outside for recess and playing a game of kickball. Sure everyone participates and tries to have fun, but there is always going to be the one boy or girl that is embarrassed to play because of their weight. "Results from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using measured heights and weights, indicate that an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years are obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, first paragraph)." There are many causes for this increase in childhood obesity. To lower the percent of children that are obese all schools should have mandatory nutritional snacks and gym classes five days a week.
"Snacks can play an important role in managing kids' hunger and boosting nutrition (Kids Health second paragraph)." Parents your kids spend on average forty hours a week in school. Throughout the day they only get one meal and that is lunch. Some kids have it earlier than others. Those who have earlier lunches are more likely to go home and over eat before dinner because they are hungry. If a healthy snack is being provided once or twice during the day your child would be more satisfied and less likely to over eat. A snack low in fat and sugar is perfect.
Who really wants to say their kid is fat, no one! So why aren't more parents taking steps to provide healthier habits for their children? A factor of obesity is behavior. Your kids watch you as you do things around the house like the way you eat, what you eat, and how much exercise you are getting. If you eat unhealthy and never exercise your child is going to do the same. Kids need examples set for them, they are our future and should be taught to be healthy. Tammy a certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant said, there needs to be more educations for kids because they are very impressionable at such a young age and could help their parents learn the step to healthier lives. Children growing up in an unhealthy environment are more likely to continue living that way because that is what they know.
Schools should make physical education mandatory everyday of the week. If parents are not going to set the right examples for their children, then school personnel need to do so. When kids attend school they are in the hands of the district. They should be doing more to help stop the increasing rate of childhood obesity. Kids should be getting thirty to sixty minutes a day of physical activity. "I feel it is imperative that children have mandatory exercise early on to develop good life style habits (Tammy Haselhoff)." So in the 7 hours kids spend at school at least thirty minutes of that can be spent outside of the classroom and in the gym burning calories.
Schools should offer healthy snacks during the school day and have mandatory gym class five days a week. Kids are spending forty hours a week in school and these schools are doing the bare minimum to teach and keep these kids healthy. With healthy snacks and mandatory exercise class the percent of obese children could be reduced.
Work Cited
"Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Childhood | DNPAO | CDC."Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 29 Apr. 2010. .
Gavin, Mary L. Smart Snacking. Kids Health. Nemours, reviewed February 2009. Web. 2 Nov.
2010.
Tammy Haselhoff. Interviewed by Lindsey Haselhoff. 4 Nov. 2010.
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