The Awful Truth About Kids & Obesity
Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites
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Overweight Kids, Whose Fault is it?
There is an ongoing argument these days on the Obesity Factor in Kids. "Whose fault is it?" "The parents? The kids?"
The answer might be, "Neither". The answer might be, "Our educational system."
There are so many things in the world to learn about - from math to science, but math, science and reading do not affect the longevity of man. Eating does. Nutrition does. Exercise does.
We may be able to solve the most complex of math problems, but most kids don't even know where to begin when they are dealing with the food in front of them - food that they must eat each day in order to survive.
Fact is, neither do most adults.
What good is all the knowledge in the world if life itself is placed into jeopardy? Or cut far shorter than it's natural years?
Solutions to the Kids & Obesity Problem
Kids sit a lot these days - about 6 hours and sometimes more at school yet when Kids Obesity is addressed, it's almost always put on the Parent's back. Video games and television are blamed.
Activity periods should be a HUGE part of the daily grind NOT only at home, but also at school.
Activity periods should be instituted two times per day - an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Kids should be allowed to choose what activity they would like to do - whether it's just enjoying the outdoors, or shooting hoops.
Kids, Very Limited Time to Exercise During School Days
Fact is, kids spend the best part of their day at school. It is only normal for the body to begin winding down at the end of the day - about the time that most arrive home. 
This is just one more reason why our kids should be allowed opportunities at school to move around more. And when the winter hours are involved and the sky gets dark way earlier in the day, outdoor activity is out after school ends.
Children should also be taught about energy in foods and how they relate to the body. They need to know which foods are their best sources; there are very few kids who can even name the basic food groups from the American Food Pyramid - much less who know what a serving size is for a particular natural food.
Homework, a Top Contributor to Child Obesity
Another contributor to Kid's Obesity is the teacher who assigns homework.
Many times, kids have four or more teachers, and each may assign homework which requires a half hour or more to complete.
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They claim it's to teach kids responsibility - yet homework not only eats into Family Time, it eats into Activity & Relaxation Time. There aren't many adults who bring home work after hours, particularly when they aren't getting paid for such.
To add even more 'weight' to the Kids & Obesity issue, most school cafeterias would make a grown nutritionist cry, yet soda and candy machines are yanked out and tagged 'the Fat Predator'.
Kids should be taught that soda and candy can be a part of a healthy diet AND healthy, TASTY foods should be a part of a kid's school day.
Last but not least, when our kids are involved in fund-raisers, why are candies and cookies sold as fund-raisers?
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