Let’s Move!

By Erin Kate McCarthy, Friday, March 19, 2010, at 3:26 pm.

creativecommons.org/by Ed Yourdon

While listening to NPR recently, my disappointment grew as callers complained about Let’s Move, a new government-sponsored initiative that aims to conquer childhood obesity and general poor health. One person said something to the effect of, “We’re trying to make children too skinny,” while another said, “Our culture only likes thin people.”

An overweight woman called in saying she felt targeted and was offended at the new initiative. I also heard parents defend their overweight children, calling the program useless and unfair. Probably the best comment I heard was from a caller who said we don’t have a problem with children and weight; rather, the studies that showed those results were, the person said, “made up.”

There are pros and cons to almost every situation, but I find it difficult to defend any argument objecting to the goal of Let’s Move. Let’s face it: There is an enormous weight problem in America. Children are chubby and diabetic, more money than ever is being spent on the health (or lack thereof) of children, and parents will outlive their children if this continues. It’s a sad state of affairs for the Land of the Free; frankly, it’s embarrassing.

I don’t believe in wasting time blaming people on how this tragic problem emerged, but I do think it’s important to examine some of the reasons behind the issue:

• Advertisements. The target audience is very clear on Saturday and Sunday mornings. While there are several arguments based on the “stickiness” effect of commercials directed to kids, I have personally seen 3- and 4-year-olds scream in the supermarket if they don’t get the Barbie fruit snacks they saw on TV. The other side of the argument is blaming the parents for letting their kids watch TV so much—and/or spending so much time on the computer instead of playing outside. I believe our culture, not just parents, promotes these habits; TV is a free babysitter. If our economy wasn’t in such disarray, perhaps parents could spend more time with their children instead of depending on work.
• Unhealthy food at home. Almost always, packaged, processed food is much less expensive, lasts longer and is more convenient than preparing natural, healthier foods. Unfortunately, we rely on these kinds of foods because of our culture. Who has time to cook a meal after working all day?
• Unhealthy food in schools, plus little activity. In addition to unhealthy school lunches (although in many places they are getting better), there’s a serious lack of physical activity during the school day. Not only are teachers giving enormous amounts of work (which disables students from having recess), but kids are also expected to finish more work at home, interfering with their free time after school, which could be spent playing outside or on sports teams. Plus, if kids are learning at a level the government has decided isn’t “appropriate,” funding is often decreased—and typically one of the first budgets cut is school lunches.
• Teen melatonin levels. Studies show the melatonin levels in preteens and teens increases at night and is produced later in the mornings, making it difficult to get up for early morning classes. And classrooms are notoriously dark inside, making it even more difficult for students to focus. Additionally, as weight reaches unhealthy levels, sleep apnea and other sleep-related conditions can make sleeping more difficult. Not only does that lead to sleepy kids in the classroom, but it also poses severe health problems.

An estimated two-thirds of our population is obese or overweight. If this continues, children will die before their parents. This realization is extremely devastating, and it’s also unfortunate and unacceptable. There are several reasons that this happened, and the American culture has allowed the behavior to continue.

The working parents are doing the best they can, juggling carpools, work, laundry, marriage, economic pressures, stress and mortgages. The school systems face choices affecting decisions that kids shouldn’t be punished for, regardless of whose fault it is. The cyclical nature and interconnection between all these reasons and others for childhood obesity perpetuate the problem.

Michelle Obama has taken on a tremendous issue plaguing our children and families nationwide. Understanding how we got here is one thing, but we must move forward and stop finding reasons to call Let’s Move unfair. Regardless of whether you agree with the government and its administration, Michelle Obama and her counterparts deserve at least some credit for trying to tackle a major problem affecting far too many children and moving forward to help get our children healthier, thinner and at fewer health risks that can so easily be prevented.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 3:26 pm. It is filed under Features, Health and Wellness and tagged with advertisements, children, diabetes, exercise, health, Let's Move, Marketing, melatonin, Michelle Obama, NPR, overweight, parenting, schools, Teens, TV, unhealthy food, working parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.