CHAPTER
SEVEN: The Path to Better Health and a
Longer Life
“I’m addicted to exercising and I
have to do something every day.”
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
In an article written by Linda Baker, titled “Sprawl: Soccer Moms’ Public Enemy
#1,” echoes our thoughts. Baker states: “The health of a community, says
urban social critic Ray Oldenberg, can be measured by the number of amenities
located within walking distance. By this standard, the community is far
from well. Largely because walking has become both unpleasant and
dangerous, the number of adults and children walking to school and to work has
declined dramatically since the 1970's, according to Sprawl Watch
Clearinghouse. Although it used to be the most common way of getting
around in cities and towns, today only 5.5 percent of all trips are on foot.”
The article continues with, “Interviews with department of transportation
officials in ten states revealed that kids are walking to school less than in
the past, mostly because of parental concerns for safety and the location of
new schools in outlying areas where lack of sidewalks makes it difficult to
walk. It’s no surprise, perhaps, that a study released last year by the
Centers for disease Control links increasing childhood obesity rates to
automobile-centered lifestyles.”
“Exercise equals endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.”
- Anonymous
Another idea in the article links wealth and walking. “Today, traffic
congestion has added a startling, new dimension to class-based travel
problems. Reversing a decades-old trend, walking, not driving is becoming
a privilege of wealth. Compare the rising poverty rates in the nation’s
older ‘car-burbs’ with upscale new urbanist communities like Seaside in Florida
or award-winning Orenco in Portland. Or consider the gentrification that
is claiming inner cities across the country, replacing affordable housing with
premium-price condos located only a stone’s throw from work, shopping, and
entertainment.”
Therefore, this truth is
as undeniable as the Earth revolving around the Sun. All nations must adopt New Urbanism that is
an urban design movement that’s based upon environmentally friendly and holistic
neighborhoods where walking, biking, and public transportation is available. In addition, our rebuilt neighborhoods must
have a wide range of housing and job opportunities, as well as stores for shopping
and social events.
“There is nothing impossible to him
who will try.”
- Alexander the Great
This shift away from physical education, and walking to and from school, helps
explain the poor physical condition of so many young people under the age of
18. This lack of physical activity in senior high school shows up in the
poor physical condition of military recruits. A reporter heard that one
army trainer remarked that some recruits look like they spent their whole life
sitting on a couch watching television while eating and drinking their way into
obesity.
“Exercise as soon as you get up, you
will see what a difference it makes to your life.”
- Awaken the Greatness Within
According to the latest estimates, in the 1990's almost five million children,
more than double the numbers of the 1960's, were severely overweight.
They blame this condition on fast food, video games, too much TV, but much of
it is due to the lack of physical exercise.
The result seems to be that the United States population is now producing a new
generation of couch potatoes. These are children who often follow the
unhealthy examples of family adults leading them into chronic adult health
problems and premature death. They reported that one child remarked that
he didn’t know adults ever exercised, all the adults he knew of just sat around
and watched television. Far too often, obese parents raise obese children
who grow into obese adulthood.
“Exercise to have fun and be healthy,
not just to lose weight.”
- Anonymous
The amount of time watching television is another important factor in
children’s fitness. In the 1960's and 1970's, the average child in the
United States watched just two hours of TV each day. This viewing time
doubled by the 1990's, with one third of the children watching five or more
hours a day. With increased numbers of available channels on cable and
satellite TV, along with an expanding Internet access, the number of hours our
children sit in front of cathode‑ray tubes or computer screens will
increase. It has been found that children’s levels of obesity can be
predicted by the numbers of hours each day that they watch television.
Some parents use the family TV set as a mechanical babysitter. While
children and adults derive benefit from the best types of programming such as Sesame
Street or My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic; global corporations make most
Network TV programs to market toys to children and teenagers, while titillating
adults with subtle references that only adults would know about. In
brief, be it “G.I. Joe” or be it “Baywatch,” these programs have little or no
positive value for young children or anyone else.
In addition, University of Minnesota communications professor Jerry Pepper
pointed out a major logic flaw in nearly all these programs, animated or
live-action. They nearly always resolve conflicts that the main
characters have with each other, or with the villain of the week, within each
half-hour or hour segment. This leads to the false belief among gullible
viewers that they can solve THEIR problems in the same amount of time.
This false belief in easy, fast, and painless solutions makes it harder for the
obese to commit to a lifelong program of moderate exercise and a balanced diet.
“Exercise is therapy.”
- Anonymous
In contrast to viewing T.V., any type of daily regular physical activity has
both short term rewards as well as long term rewards. Young people who
take part in high school sports programs are three times more likely to
graduate. Girls who are active in sports are more confident, have higher
self esteem, and take more pride in their physical and social selves.
Girls who take part in physical activities are 92 percent less inclined to use
drugs and 80 percent less likely to have an unexpected pregnancy. They
also are less apt to drop out of school than their non-athletic counterparts and
more likely to go on to college. Later in adulthood they are less likely
to develop chronic health conditions such as heart disease and high
cholesterol. Due to increased opportunities to participate in high school
sports programs, more girls are now involved in athletics. Nationwide in
1971 only one in twenty‑seven girls took part in high school sports. By
1994, one girl in three was a member of a high school sports team.
Children who are active in sports gain superior motor skills, perform better
academically, and have a healthier attitude toward school compared to their
less active classmates.
Note: To live a long healthy life, daily, regular, consistent lifelong
physical exercise is a necessity, not a luxury.
With this in mind, we need to make certain that each new generation must become
aware of the need for daily, regular, physical exercise combined with a low fat
diet while avoiding the use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco. To do
otherwise is to put entire generations at risk for poor health and early
death. Every citizen who cares about the future of the United States
should lobby actively for mandated physical and nutritional education programs
in all grades from K to 12 in public and private schools.
Information on the long term benefits
of exercise, good nutrition and the dangers of using alcohol, drugs, and
tobacco should be made available to children and their parents as part of every
elementary school’s curriculum. The major reason for promoting childhood
physical activity is not only the short term goal of producing physically fit
children, but, more importantly to start them off in behavior patterns that
they will carry on into adulthood. This will reduce their risk of
diseases associated with aging such as cardiovascular disease, various cancers
and diabetes. These are all conditions that are easier to prevent than to
treat.
It is most important to start promoting healthy lifestyles early in the child’s
life because it is well-known that mental behavior patterns that are set early
in life are the most difficult to change. So, if you want to establish a
good diet based on healthy
and nutritious foods and exercise habits in a child, start at the age of fifteen
months. Don’t wait to age fifteen years; then it may be too late for many
children.
“Fitness starts in your head. You
must choose to eat clean, exercise regularly, and treat your body with
respect.”
- Anonymous
What to do? First, set TV and Internet time limits for yourself and for your
children. Watch only what you really want to watch, and then do something
else afterwards. (For example, this author and his son regularly watch
the History Channel, The Discovery Channel, or Anime such as “Attack on Titan,”
“To Heart,” and “Sailor Moon.” Then, we balance time passively watching
with active exercise while talking with each other, or writing). For
every hour of watching TV, plan an hour of physical activity. Parents can
set a positive example by participating with their children in physical
activities, such as walking, biking, dancing, outdoor games, nature photography
skating, skiing, sledding, and snowshoeing. These can be of great benefit
to all participants.
Also, plan to eat family meals at home for least three days a week as a way to
establish good childhood food behavior patterns. Children need to know by
example that parents value getting everyone together for their family
meals. Children who eat their meals with their families tend to do better
nutritionally and at managing a variety of foods than those children who mainly
snack outside of the family circle on junk food. “Parents influence their
children's eating habits more than any other factor,” says Dr. Paul McGinnis,
family practice physician.
“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.”
- Thomas Jefferson
Parents need to take children along when shopping for food in order to indicate
to them what food is acceptable for family meals. To maintain a child’s
natural growth process, do not put children on a low calorie deprivation
diet. That can be harmful because children who are on low calorie diets
have less energy and slower rates of maturation. Instead reduce the amount
of dietary fat by replacing it with fiber rich carbohydrates such as potatoes,
pasta, breads, cereals, vegetables and fruits.
Cut back on children’s consumption of sugar-based foods. The goal
is not to remove all sweets from children’s diets. Instead a much more
realistic goal should be to hold their intake of sweets to moderation by
keeping candy dishes and cookie jars out of sight and by not making them
available to create temptations. These easy
to make lifestyle changes help insure that your children come to the dinner
table hungry.
Grandparents should not use desserts and sweets as rewards, or as a substitute
for affection. Your time and love are more important to your grandchild
than candy bars, soda pop, and fast food. Instead of giving those types
of sweets, take your grandchildren to places that are of interest to them and
where they can combine physical exercise with a learning experience such as
walking through a zoo, nature center, or a park.
NOTE: Make sure that all outing participants understand that they will be
walking and that they are wearing comfortable shoes. This helps insure
that everyone knows what will happen and that everyone has an enjoyable
experience.
Make meals family projects by involving children with the planning, purchase,
and preparation of the menu. Create a new recipe from scratch once a week
as a family project. Parents should teach children to eat slowly so as to
taste and enjoy their food and be aware of the feeling of fullness.
Family meals should be occasions of conversation and sharing of recent
experiences. Use these meals as opportunities to build children’s self‑esteem
by sincerely listening to them, while respecting their point of view.
Children want to feel that they are loved, accepted, cherished, and important
to the adults around them. This is vital to their development into
adulthood. Parents should avoid using family meals times for scolding and
criticizing, instead make these regular eating schedule mealtimes pleasant
events that everyone will look forward to and afterwards is fondly remembered.
NOTE: Parents and legal guardians should remember to only fight for what
is truly important for your children. For example, it is better for your
son to be trim, healthy, and wear his hair in a ponytail; than for him to be
fat, unhealthy, and have a crew cut hairstyle.
