Healthy Active Children

I’m sounding a lot like my mother. Though I promised myself that it would never happen, I can hear myself echoing her words.

My mom, circa 1958: “When I was a girl, I walked over a mile to school in the snow. I spent the whole summer playing outside with the neighborhood children.”

Me, circa 2008: “I walked to school every day. And it was uphill. I rode my bicycle all summer long – to play with friends and to the swimming pool.”

Well, my mom turned out to be a smart lady. Although I was not even close to being athletic, I could (and still can, thank God) ride a bike, jump rope, hike a few hilly miles and swim the length of a pool.

My sons can thank me for insisting on after-school sports, swimming lessons and bicycles. As adults, they still seem to be in pretty good shape.

But many children today are in trouble. They’re heavier and less active than ever before. It’s happening at a younger age.

And the Jewish community is not exempt. In fact, our children may be worse off than others.

In a survey of the Chicago Orthodox Jewish community, 54% of the children were overweight and 26% were obese. In the general population, childhood obesity was 13%.

Israeli children were among the least active (and the most connected electronically) in a recent 14-country study of childhood behaviors.

It’s not hard to figure out why.

Too many hours sitting in the house and not enough time running around outside. Carpools instead of bicycles. Computers, videos and television instead of swimming pools, playgrounds and sports.

The effects are disturbing:

An increase in the number of children suffering from Type-2 diabetes (which used to be called adult-onset diabetes)

High cholesterol and high blood pressure in children

Overweight young teens with eating disorders

Decreased bone density – By the late teens and early twenties, bone mass is complete. The quality of the bones we’ve built by then has to last us the rest of our lives

What can you do?

Whenever possible, let your children walk rather than ride in a car.

Limit your children’s time with electronic games, television, computers and phone calls.

Encourage your children to participate in after-school sports and fitness classes.

Take walks together. Ride bicycles. Swim. Jump rope.

Keep moving!