Chilhood Obesity Getting Worse

This article I found was pretty alarming.

A new study found that one in five American 4-year olds are obese. That's OBESE, not just overweight.

Here were the breakdowns by racial groups:

Almost 13 percent of Asian children were obese, along with 16 percent of whites, almost 21 percent of blacks, 22 percent of Hispanics, and 31 percent of American Indians.

The article goes on to talk about why there are the bigger disparities between the racial groups:

Flores cited higher rates of diabetes in American Indians, and also Hispanics, which scientists believe may be due to genetic differences.

Also, other factors that can increase obesity risks tend to be more common among minorities, including poverty, less educated parents, and diets high in fat and calories, Flores said.

One tool that a Native American tribe is using to help with the problem is setting up camps that focus on exercise but also follow in a Native American tradition:

To address the problem, her clinic has created activities for young Indian children, including summer camps and a winter break "outdoor day" that had kids braving 8-degree temperatures to play games including "snowsnake." That's a traditional American Indian contest in which players throw long, carved wooden "snakes" along a snow or ice trail to see whose lands the farthest.

The hope is that giving kids used to modern sedentary ways a taste of a more active traditional American Indian lifestyle will help them adopt healthier habits, she said.

Although I can appreciate the concept of keeping with a tradition within a certain racial group, I have to say, I hope they have those kids doing something more than just throwing something.

We need to get these kids exerting themselves more. How about a game where one kid throws the snowsnake and another kid sprints after it and retrieves it, kind of like playing fetch with a dog?

This is something that I think we all need to really be concerned about because if we don't get this under the microscope and come up with a plan to fight it soon, we're going to have a whole generation of youngster where it will be normal to have high blood pressure, diabetes, joint problems, cancers, etc., then to not have those health issues.

www.leanbodyfitness.com
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