Girls ~ And Women ~ Just Wanna Have Fun

Over the past two weeks I’ve seen a total of 3 news stories on children and physical fitness (or lack thereof) in our schools, 1 on complications of obesity, 2 on the federal nutrition guidelines, and too many too count on prescription drugs and their side-effects. Right now, I’m watching a young girl perform what I can only call a combination of cheerleading and gymnastics while jumping rope (more on that later).

The U.S. waistline continues to expand, with 61 percent of adults now considered overweight, and 26 % considered obese. More than 15% of children are dangerously overweight while shrinking educational budgets are forcing physical education programs out of our schools.

Common sense would tell us we’d better starting making some lifestyle changes. Sadly, common sense seems to be underrated these days. To illustrate this, one story explained that a significant number of overweight Americans suffering shortness of breath and significant difficulty breathing have been diagnosed and treated for asthma, when the underlying cause for the diminished lung capacity and function was obesity. I personally know individuals who have undergone several knee operations, complain that “it didn’t help at all” but shrug off any mention of being more than 100 pounds over-weight for their frame.

Further, special interest groups in certain food industries are complaining because new government guidelines for nutrition are for the first time recommending that we consume as little added salt and sugar as possible. One representative went so far as to claim there was no scientific research supporting claims that there is any link between sugar consumption and obesity or the increase of type-II diabetes among adult Americans.

I promised that I’d get back to the athletic girl with the jump rope. She brought a tear to my eye. Her smile lit up her face. Her frame was robust and muscular. When she finished her performance, the interviewer commented that she wasn’t even out of breath.
She is probably clueless that she is performing an extreme physical feat because, in her mind, she's just having fun. Like the kids at An Achievable Dream Academy, where any games they play as part of their rigorous phys-ed program are played for fun – with little, if any, concern about who is winning. They are all winners in the game of life.

Most of us grew up eating the high-fat comfort foods our stay-at-home mom’s served up three times a day. Only 4% of kids were significantly overweight in those Harriet Nelson and June Cleaver days. Physical activity was built into our days. From gym class, to riding bikes or walking everywhere we went. From playing sand-lot baseball to unstructured pick-up games of basketball, touch football and others, with names like kick-the-can, red light—green light and plain old tag.

The world we live in has changed. Neighborhoods aren’t the safe place they were back then. Parents struggle with the knowledge that their kids might be couch potatoes but at least they are safe. Working adults are working harder than ever in less physically demanding jobs. Levels of stress increase, along with the so-called stress hormones that are only depleted by physical activity. We lament that the pace of life is hectic but we’re getting nowhere fast.

With the glut of FDA approved drugs being pulled off the market, we have to consider the fact that there is no quick cure, no magic pill for all that ails us. We’re being forced to look at the underlying cause of disease in America. We want a solution , but we’re overlooking that which is right in front of us – it’s plain common sense.

Get up off the couch. Get out from in front of the computer or television. Push yourself away from the table and get your body moving. Forget the gym or the fitness club. Forget the in-and-out in 30 minutes circuit training, the latest diet, or celebrity endorsed method or machine for getting that Hollywood body. If you want to stay in shape, go out and play. If you want to make a difference in America’s future – play with a kid. Jump rope, play tag, ride a bike, bounce a ball. Teach your kids, or the kids in your neighborhood or at your playground, the games you played when you were a kid. Have some fun. You, and the world, will be better for it.