It’s a sad state of affairs, but probably not all that surprising, that our kids are falling well behind the eightball when it comes to physical activity.
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The latest report card (2016) from Active Healthy Kids Australia has given our kids a D minus for their exercise efforts, against 37 other countries; behind places like Mozambique, Mexico and Ghana.
Here, according to the report again, only something like 19 per cent of 5 to 17 year olds meet national physical activity guidelines, “which recommend 60 minutes of heart-pumping physical activity per day.”
In Slovenia, 86% of children met the same benchmark.
We fared slightly better when it came to active transport options, such as walking or cycling to school instead of using motorised transport, scoring a C minus; but even that’s down from a C in 2015.
In Australia, 60 per cent of adults are overweight or obese – so we’re hardly setting a fine example.
It begs the question what are we doing wrong and how can we fix it?
We spend a lot of time these days talking about obesity, but what are we really doing to tackle the problem.
The latest conversation involves doctors calling for a fat tax and possibly higher health and life insurance premiums for people who are obese.
In the past there’s been talk of a sugar tax. But is a hip pocket hit really the way to go?
Yes it would help to alleviate some of the ongoing costs of obesity to the health care system, which is a good thing because we all know it’s costing us a fortune. But might not a change in attitude do the same thing within a generation.
If we give our kids the tools they need for a healthy and productive life, isn’t that a better way to go?
We are seeing some big changes in our schools; things like vegie gardens and healthy eating canteens are certainly a start, even if there’s still a long way to go.
Perhaps some basic cooking classes for all children would not go astray.
Time spent in the kitchen with mum or dad used to be ‘a thing’ – though not so much anymore.
Another pretty solid initiative is ‘Walk to school day’ – this Friday. If you can, why not walk your kids to school, or ride. In fact, why wait.
Because only by taking action can we solve the obesity crisis – literally. The time for conversation is over.