Many children participate in team sport or enjoy it, but it is important that even children who don’t, have access to a healthier life style. Sport and fitness is well known to have many benefits including building self confidence, building relationships with fellow students, releasing endorphins - giving you the ‘feel good factor’ and reducing childhood and adult obesity. One in three children between 2 and 15 are overweight or obese. Children should be given the tools and knowledge at a young age to make this a lifestyle that will continue into adulthood.
One of the main issues with childhood obesity is the lack of education at an early age. If parents are feeding them the cheap, easy and unhealthy food, how are they supposed to know what’s good and what’s not? Schools try hard to educate them and include sport in the curriculum and many schools now follow a healthy schools option. However, young kids often don’t make the connection between sport and health.
Humans are very good at living for the now and not seeing the effect of their actions on the future. Obesity is the biggest killer in the UK above smoking and alcohol related disease. Obesity is a hugely contributing factor to non alcoholic fatty liver disease (and cirrhosis), heart disease, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, gall stones, poor skin, breathlessness. Diabetes itself causes many additional complications all as a consequence of high blood sugar levels, not to mention a life time of carbohydrate counting.
With this in mind, how can we educate society to live a more healthy lifestyle?
Author Kiko Matthews
i agree!
ReplyDeleteour children need education from an early age. I respect what Jamie Oliver is trying to do, we need a fitness revolution too!
ReplyDeletethink that a 'fat' tax should be introduced on fatty foods to subsidise healthy ones.....then theres the whol xbox/ps3 issue which has ruined our children...who's to blame?
ReplyDeleteIt's because, like in America, junk food is cheap and easily available. People can't be arsed to cook. Too many people on benefits sitting on their asses all day - if you've ever spent so much time at home you'll probably remember eating more because you're bored. Education might be the answer but it has to be relevant - there's no good educating a fat person who hates sport on the benefits of exercise for example, better educate them on the potential effects of eating crap all the time and being obese.
ReplyDeletei blame the super markets, they ram cheap junk food down our throats. You only have to walk down 1 isle to see 40 bags of crisps for £3, or 24 litres of Pepsi for £1!!
ReplyDeleteeducating at an early age is def the answer, but is the government ready to invest?