The Forgotten Grade

We are well and truly into the new school year and with the Holiday break fast approaching, classroom work is of high priority. Every new school year has a similar feeling in some ways to that of the New Year. With the beginning of a new school year, just like the New Year, come “resolutions”:

• Better grades
• Better behavior
• Increase GPA
• Community volunteering
• Be friendlier to schoolmates

With the above in mind, the following is information that I obtained from Center of Disease Control and Prevention website:

“Data from NHANES surveys (1976–1980 and 2003–2006) show that the prevalence of obesity in children has increased:

• Children aged 2–5 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 12.4%
• Children aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 17.0%
• Children aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.6%

Obese children and adolescents are at risk for health problems during their youth and as adults. For example, during their youth, obese children and adolescents are more likely to have risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes) than are other children and adolescents.

Obese children and adolescents are more likely to become obese as adults. For example, one study found that approximately 80% of children who were overweight at aged 10–15 years were obese adults at age 25 years. Another study found that 25% of obese adults were overweight as children. The latter study also found that if overweight begins before 8 years of age, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe.”

As you can see from the statistics above, obesity among children is a huge problem and is getting worse. One of the main factors attributed to the obesity levels rising, is the severe lack of exercise engaged in by children. This is an age dominated by technology, and unfortunately this has resulted in cessation of exercise. With that said, lets revisit the list of new school year “resolutions” above. How about we add to that list? Let’s add “I will participate in some form of exercise for at least 30 minutes every day”. This might not seem like much, but it will go a long way!