America….America Has A Problem

Yup! We are doing a huge disservice to our future generations. As technology continues to advance allowing us to have greater access to knowledge, connect with people all over the world, and provide entertainment at every single moment of the day…it has caused a huge issue for our youth.

Our children are more overweight now than they ever were before. And if my predictions are correct…. (Dramatically Long Pause For Effect) it is only going to get worse.

In 1974 the numbers were strikingly different than most recent studies. From a survey focused on youth and their weight based on percentages amongst children of the same age group the numbers told a very different tale about America. The number of overweight children in 1974 was 4%. Children played outside more. TV was a thing but didn’t hold the youth captive with its astronomical number of channels and shows. Internet was not a thought. And the YouTube creator wasn’t even born yet! (I really don’t know if the latter part is correct…it sounds good though, right? 🤭)

In 2008, can you guess what the percentage was in a study done by The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey? It says that the number of children that were overweight at that time was nearly 20%. Guess what a more recent study done by Ogden says those numbers are at now???? 37%. 🤯

AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM.

We are plopping these kids in front of screens to keep them out of our hair and they are growing wiser and wider….fast. The CDC recommends that children get 60 minutes of activity a day. This can be playing, sports, exercise, riding bikes, nature walks. That’s it. An hour. That was easy for my age group back in the day (🤦🏾‍♀️ hate to even use that phrase because it makes me sound old, but I digress). It was easy because technology was NO WHERE near what it is today. We watched the world transform in front of our eyes with technology and now here we are.

I know from my own household that my boys aren’t getting an hour of activity every day. I even wake the boys up and do a little workout with them just to get them in the habit of morning workouts, with the hopes that they will one day make that a lifestyle. But those 5-10 minutes is nothing. It’s merely a dent in the hour they are supposed to have. And they complain the entire time and get distracted with other things they would rather be doing or the fact that my music choice was not to their liking for our workout. 🤦🏾‍♀️

Of course activity is only part of the equation to this problem. The other piece? You guessed it! NUTRITION. We are feeding our babies convenience instead of home cooked balanced meals that should include veggies! I’m guilty of this too. I use to pull up to a McDonald’s rushed for time and no desire to cook after a busy and stressful day at work. I have since learned the errors of my ways and now we might pull up to a Chipotle instead. 😩 This still doesn’t compare to a meal prepared at home where you can be certain of the additives, the fats added, sugar added, etc. Don’t let me get started on the snacks that are available even at the check out lines at the hardware store! They are everywhere! And I’m guilty of picking them up to stop hearing the complaining kids.

America has a problem. What should we do? Where should we start? I have some ideas and they may need to come to fruition sooner than later. I want to hear from you though! What can we do for our babies? What would you like to see done to help them?