I have seen kids who are two and three years old being pushed by their family in what I used to think was a baby carriage. I have seen dog owners pushing their dogs in the same way. Is it a new fashion? Are we in such a hurry or so impatient that we are missing out on the pleasures of strolling and teaching our kids and beloved pets to do the same.
I remember my parents walking in the back and me and my brother running in front, because that was what kids did and still do. They like to run. Or maybe my parents really took pleasure in strolling and they did it so slowly that we thought we were running.
In any case, we were moving around for pleasure.
I am very lucky to have friends that remind me of my childhood. One day we had a brunch date with them and even though they lived very close to the chosen restaurant, they were late, not by too much but unusual for them. When we looked down the street, there they were with their 19 month old daughter pushing her doll car in front of them and I just smiled. She was doing what kids do and they were strolling behind her and enjoying what is going to be part of their memories forever.
We are not only missing physical activity; we are missing the fun.
We are in a constant hurry to I don't know where, having to complete an endless to do list that doesn't have the things that we will remember 10 years from now. We are missing out on the little fun and pieces of happiness that will keep us alive and make for a reservoir of happy things to pull from in lonely times. And to top it all off we are contributing to this horrible pandemic that is childhood obesity.
We the health professionals are now targeting inactivity time. TV viewing is proven to have an impact on the rise of obesity for many reasons besides exposure to ads for unhealthy foods. Do the math: the recommendation for screen time (yes, not only TV, we are including video games and computers into the equation) no more than two hour a day.
Kids nowadays spend an average of 4 hours per day screen time, multiplied by 7 days and you have 28 hours per week of screen time, multiplied by 4 and you have 112 hours per month of screen time, multiplied by 12 and your child would have spent 1344 hours per year of screen time or almost 2 entire months in front of a screen which means 2 entire months of inactivity.
I don't know about you but this scares the life out of me.
On the other hand, physical activity dropped to less than 2 hours a week. If we do the same math we will have: 8 hours per month of physical activity, 96 hours per year of physical activity or 4 days for the entire year spent on physical activity.
If you don't see something wrong with this picture, I don't know how we will help our kids.
Obesity and all its consequences will be here to stay.
Strolling for the whole family after dinner instead of TV can be a good start.
My goal as a pediatrician is to remind parents of their power to prevent and control childhood obesity. Parents have the power to change their home environment and influence changes in their schools and communities.
You can follow us at: My website http://www.obesityparentalpower.com/
My blog http://www.obesityparentalpower.com/blog/www.obesityparentalpower.com/Blog/Blog.html
On Twitter @parentalpower
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