Wanna combat childhood obesity? Here's a novel idea: WORK

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Published on October 1, 2004 By Angloesque In Health & Medicine

The rate of obesity in children ages 12 - 19 has tripled, and for ages 6 - 11, doubled in the last 30 years. My own 18-year-old students last year were not among the slimmest I've ever seen. One day we got into a discussion about chores in class. What I heard from them was disturbing: approximately half had never had to do much more than wash the dishes and make their beds at their own home. Why? Here's what I learned from them:

-Many of their parents live in suburban homes where the yardwork is hired out
-they had hired help to come clean the inside of the house
-the students are proficient at most computer games and very Internet savvy--which implies that they've spent a lot of time indoors
-their summer jobs are usually working at McDonalds, Taco Bell, and babysitting, if they had jobs at all
-only 2 of my 60 played on any of our university team sports

I'm not saying these are indicative of all students nationwide, but I think it's a fairly good sampling. What was obvious was that they've never had to do major chores in their lives. My dad decided to reforest our hillside when I was growing up and I spent many a summer (and spring and fall) dragging hoses from tree to tree, or laying sod or digging ditches, and I was in great shape. Then I worked as a rafting guide: great shape. I've never been rail thin but neither am I obese, and I still eat my cheese and chocolate and pasta.

There may or may not be an obesity gene, I don't know; what I do know is that telling manufacturers to relabel their products, as has been suggested, is not the answer. Good, old-fashioned work is. Getting out in the yard and mowing the lawn is. Babysitting can burn a lot of calories. Working as a lifeguard or a baggage checker is active. Buying your 16-year-old a car instead of having them ride their bike or walk to school isn't. Hell, I used to walk almost two miles to school, and that was taking the shortcut.

If a child is still obese, then perhaps something more drastic is in line, but popping pills or getting your stomach stapled before you're old enough to drink can't be the first answer.

The onus of responsibility falls on the parents and the children themselves: not the doctors, not the school nurses, not the media, not the product manufacturers. I know a school nurse who has twelve- and thirteen-year-olds coming in with stretch marks all over their bellies, thighs, and buttocks. Stretch marks from pregnancy? Sure, those are okay; stretch marks from gaining weight when you should still be out chasing boys? Not so good.

Comments

BlueDev

on Oct 01, 2004

The onus of responsibility falls on the parents and the children themselves: not the doctors, not the school nurses, not the media, not the product manufacturers.

You got an insightful from me on this one. It is so true. The current trend to pass the responsibility on to others in today's society sickens me. Don't blame the kid who sits on his butt all day. Don't blame the parents who let their kids sit their. Blame McDonalds for selling fatty food. Blame the Oreos because they actually put *gasp* shortening in the CREAM FREAKING FILLING!

Growing up I had plenty of chores. All very age appropriate too. By the time I was in High School I had my room to keep clean, vacuumed and dusted (and this was expected every week), dust and vacuum the basement, help with the dishes and set the table. Then there was outside. We had 2 flower gardens, a large strawberry patch, and 2 large vegetable gardens (and some nasty raspberry and blackberry patches). It was my job to make sure that, every week, these were weed free. I also mowed our lawn, edged it every other week, mowed my grandparent's lawn (and edged it every other week as well). My dad did plenty of other work with some other parts of the yard and helped me out if he finished his many tasks in time. During the winter he and I had 5 houses we had to make sure the walks were snow free. So if it snowed over night, you guessed it, he and I would get up at 4 in the morning to get all 5 done before anyone had to go to work and drive or walk over the snow.

It sure pissed me off some days back then, but I am very grateful now.

Gideon MacLeish

on Oct 01, 2004

We have always astonished people by the fact that, even as toddlers, our kids have had some chores (mainly picking up their room). My motto has always been: If they're old enough to pull the toys out, they're old enough to put them away.

And my children are slender, despite being able to put away food at a rate that a sumo wrestler would envy...lol (no water and crackers for these girls!)

BlueDev

on Oct 01, 2004

My motto has always been: If they're old enough to pull the toys out, they're old enough to put them away.

Absolutely. The other important thing to note I believe is that the more they learn it when they are young, the more willing to do it they will be when they are old. Our 21 month old daughter knows the clean up song and starts putting toys away the second my wife or I start singing it. She has for months now. Jessica knows she has to take care of her toys, clothes, etc. She gets excited about making her bed in the morning before we ask her to because she started young. She helps with the dishes as well. Teach them to work when they are young and can still be convinced it is fun. They will thank you when they are older. I know I do.

Ravenblack

on Oct 01, 2004

You might want to try to get this published in a magazine or health website, because I think you got good points there. Far too many people use a lot of excuses (e.g ever popular "obese gene" and food labelling) to dodge responsibility for their own or their children's weight problem and using things like pills as a short cut way of solving the problem (never a lasting solution that one!)

Insightful from me too.

Angloesque

on Oct 01, 2004

It's nice to hear that there are still sensible people in the world.

And Raven, thanks for the suggestion. I always consider that a high compliment. (I'd be surprised, however, if any magazine would publish this--magazines don't exactly pander to the idea of personal responsibility, IME. We'll see.)

-A.

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