Published: October 03, 2008 10:38 pm      

Physical activity key for fitness

EDMOND — Obesity is pandemic across the United States and not only are parents becoming concerned but state officials are weighing in on the subject while working with the schools.

In addition to eating more healthy by adding more fruits and vegetables and cutting down on sugar and fat, authorities agree physical activity is key. It must be increased.

Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., author of “Food Fight” and Director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, said manual work has been replaced by labor-saving devices, and a host of electronic entertainment devices consume hours yet require little but a flick of the wrist.

Almost half of all children do not participate in any regular physical activity. Children 12-17 are less likely to get regular exercise than 55-year-old adults, Brownell said.

Video games and computers give cable television a run for the money when it comes to being sedentary. In addition to these things add parents’ concerns for their child’s safety.

The June 2002 “Pediatrics” a report showed statistics comparing school children in 1973 to today’s children.

“In 1973, 70 percent of school kids walked or biked to school,” the study states. “Today, less than 15 percent do.”

A study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that one-fourth of children under two years of age had a TV in their bedrooms, more than 33 percent of children six and under had a TV in their bedrooms and 70 percent of children spend two hours a day with some kind of “screen media,” including computers and video games.

Various studies have linked TV time with obesity, eating fewer fruits and veggies, consuming more snack foods and soft drinks, and a declining metabolic rate in children.

By high school graduation, kids have logged more hours watching TV than they’ve spent at school.

According to an article in the Aug. 19, 2002, “U.S. News & World Report,” in order to save money, fewer than 10 percent of schools across the nation now offer daily physical education.

The disappearance of physical education may be blamed on too few hours in the school day (often lost to chorus, band or computer classes) and pressure to improve scores (failing to recognize the connection between fit bodies and mental acuity).

Students who aren’t active are fidgety and unfocused, which, teachers know, affects learning.

Oklahoma is one of three states in the nation with no requirement regarding how much time students spend in gym class; the school districts decide.

Although Oklahoma is the third most sedentary state in the U.S., in the Edmond schools this is not the case.