It’s a sad fact this is even a problem in this country, but the truth of the matter is that children these days are eating worse and getting less and less exercise as their lifestyles cater to the “immediate gratification” module, using video games, computers, and television as a form of entertainment. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) website, somewhere between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese in America. That’s up to a third of our kids! This is drastically different than the typical American child of thirty years ago. So what happened?

LIFESTYLE

As mentioned before, the lifestyles of these children has dramatically shifted from that of thirty years ago. Now, kids are just as apt to using Facebook and Twitter as I was back in 2005 in the Colorado State University dorm rooms. Video games shoot for “total immersion”, a playability goal that aims to completely consume the player’s attention. And TV. TV has gotten more and more accessible, airing drivel night after night of regular people trying to get famous without really doing anything at all…

But I digress.

TV has become our best friend in our houses, on our phones, in our cars and on our computers. Children on average watch approximately 4 hours of television a day and spend an additional 2 hours playing video games and on computers (kidshealth.org). And their parents aren’t setting a good example, either. In a similar study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it was found that at the end of the last decade, 96% of people over the age of 15 and employed engaged in a leisure activity such as watching TV on a daily basis.

All of this constitutes the idea that watching television–in copious amounts–is the norm. Technology–while there are astounding advancements therein–is only making it easier to access the television. We can now watch TV on our computers, phones, in our cars, and on airplanes. Likewise, the TV has become the information center of households across the country. Why get up from your couch to check your email at your computer when you can just hook your computer up to your TV and use the remote? Why go outside to play when you can play Wii golf right here in front of the TV? It is the idea of instant gratification that a “plugged-in” lifestyle is affording everyday citizens. It has reduced our attention spans and our work ethic. It’s engendered a ethos of laziness in children and parents.

FOOD

The other variable in this equation is our food. Since 1970, meals have expanded in proportion an astounding 2-5 times! As an American, you consume 15 more pounds of sugar a year than you did forty years ago, and 31% more calories on a daily basis. This has all led to the growing epidemic that is obesity. Not only is it incredibly unhealthy for cardiovascular reasons, but being obese increases you chance of developing life threatening illnesses such as high-cholesterol, heart disease, asthma and cancer. That is a fact. (All of these statistics have been mined from First Lady Obama’s “Let’s Move” Childhood Obesity Campaign website, and the American Academy of Childhood & Adolescent Psychiatry website.)

There’s a term floating around in the blogosphere: “fast food obesity”. This refers to the idea that many millions of Americans’ weight problem is directly linked to the food offered at America’s favorite fast food restaurants, which is a multi-billion dollar industry. Back in 2003, Pediatrics, a journal for the American Academy of Pediatrics, released a rather damning study that directly linked fast food consumption to childhood obesity. It was reported that on average, nearly a third of children aged 4-19 ate complex fats, sugars, and carbohydrates from fast food everyday. This has contributed to our children gaining 6 extra pounds a year.

THE KIDS

This obesity problem has a greater breadth than just junk foods and TV. Our obese children are finding it hard to maintain a high level of self-esteem, as being over-weight in this country is so often looked down upon. They are coming under the scrutiny and ridicule of their classmates and peers for their size and their weight. They are unable to participate at recess periods and gym classes due to their weight. They begin to define their over-weight identity as one of alienation.

This type of segregation between other kids has also been documented in adult cases of obesity as well. There is a defined, negative perception that obese peoples are typically in low socio-economic standing, furthering the stereotype that if one is over-weight or obese, then one is typically of a lower-income situation. Thus, increased cases of depression have been linked back to childhood obesity and the collateral damage of this disease’s nature of isolation.

But it doesn’t stop there. The obesity epidemic is wreaking havoc on our health care costs. According to an in-depth article on americanprogress.org, a website dedicated to pushing for reform in issues around the country, approximately a quarter of our health care costs goes into obesity-related health issues. This will only continue to get worse if the 33% of over-weight children become obese adults in their future.

All in all, the issue of obesity is a staggering problem, one which president Obama called “one of the most urgent health issues that we face in this country.” And he’s right from both a biological and an economic standpoint.

So what are we supposed to do?

Well, there’s no definite answer to that. Experts say eat less fat and exercise more. Easier said than done.

The root of the problem is our culture, the way we eat, the way we think about eating, how we are entertained, and how we view personal success. The food industry in America puts approximately 1.6 billion dollars into marketing to children, and two of the highest contributors to those costs were fast food companies and soda companies. Many people see fast food as a treat or a “guilty pleasure”, or worse yet, the norm. We have eating contests and glorify the ideas exuberance and excess. Restaurant portions have more than doubled in size over the last thirty years. And then you have to think of all the food we carelessly waste when there are hunger problem worldwide.

But it’s not just the multi-million dollar companies and their efforts to ensnare children in their marketing campaigns–it’s the parents of the children who are also to blame. Along with several legislative efforts, health care experts and the Obama Administration are depending on discreet community effort to help alleviate this epidemic. This means that parents need to better monitor what their children consume, and get those kids off the couch and outside to play, instead of letting them slough endless hours off in front of the TV consumed with the latest video game. Parents are enabling their kids to lead such lifestyles, and although they may think they are making their kids happy by letting them play Angry Birds for hours or giving them that bowl of ice cream before their mac-and-cheese-with-chopped-up-hot-dogs dinner, but they’re really doing their kids a disservice.

It has to be an active resolution that is made, not a passive resolution, and it has to start at the family dinner table. If you need a place to start, I highly suggest perusing the children’s fitness selections hosted here at TotalVid. There are countless exercise and activity programs engineered by real, qualified trainers, designed specifically for the kids. From martial arts to general calisthenics, these vids will help provide the approach and inspiration to get you and your kids off the couch and into a healthier lifestyle . After all, they are our future for better or worse.