Guest guest Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 AMERICA'S GROWING KIDS Saturday, 26 November 2011 Oh sure, children grow! I mean, how many times have some of you parents been amazed at how fast little Alice or seems to have shot up a whole foot...in just a couple of years. Oh, my...none of their clothes fit anymore! But today, I'm not dwelling on how kids grow up...I'm more concerned about how, these days, so many of America's children are growing...out! Northwestern University did a study of 5,547 children nationwide and not one of them met all five of the American Heart Association's criteria for being healthy. I've mentioned this to you so many times in the past but a new report from Northwestern University has confirmed what I've been saying all along. That is, America's kids are getting fatter. And along with that news comes this. Today's teens are getting more and more...less fit! (Hey, no real surprise there, right?) Northwestern did a study of 5,547 children nationwide, ages 12-19. And here's the scary part: Not one child among those 5,000+ children met all five of the American Heart Association's criteria for being healthy. Not one! Now tell me, how frightful is that? But wait, the news gets even more discouraging. More than one in three of those kids were overweight or obese plus they had high blood pressure which puts them at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. These findings are important because cardiovascular damage, the kind of medical issues that claim the lives of so many Americans in their 40's and 50's, start to develop during our adolescent and adult years. I'm telling you, this report truly scared me! Today's high-tech children are much less active than when I was a kid. America's kids have gotten less active here in the 21st century. Back in New Orleans, (and for those of you in my age group), you know that when we were kids, we looked forward to going outside to play. Some of us, like me, may have been overweight. But back then, even the overweight kids engaged in some kind of outdoor activities...sometimes! Even if it was only having some fun on the playground, that activity was good for our bodies! But today's high-tech children, I'm sorry to say, are much less active. I'll bet they probably have the strongest fingers and thumbs on the planet though. Hey, that's from "working out" texting on their smart phones or playing video games. This is not good for our kids, America! On top of that, Congress is not helping. You know all about my crusade to bring physical education back into our nation's schools. But in the meantime, let me tell you what the government has done when it comes to nutrition. I heard the most outrageous news last week. Congress failed to tighten the nutritional programs at our public schools. Get this. They're even describing pizza as a vegetable, thanks to the ounce-or-two of tomato sauce a single slice might contain. (I'd laugh if this weren't so serious!) Today's children are tomorrow's adults and, they're our nation's future! America, for the sake of our children and, to put it another way, for the sake of our nations' future, we've got to do better. Today's children are tomorrow's adults and, likewise, they are our nation's future! We can't just leave this up to the government. Parents have got to get involved, too! So tell me, what kind of physical shape are your children in? Love, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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