I was reading through an article in the New York Times this morning and was pretty disgusted. As of 2005, for the first time in over 2 centuries, the life expectancy of children is now shorter than their parents and the reason behind it is obesity. Even worse, in 1978, one study showed only 15% of children were overweight and now it is an embarrassing 26%! Right now there are 1.6 MILLION children who are overweight! I find this so frustrating and as much as people want to blame parents, a lot of them just aren't educated enough on nutrition and exercise. The real fact is, a lot of kids just don't get active. They play more xbox, watch more tv and play less outdoors than many of us did as children. I use to be outside from the moment I got home from school right up until dark, and I wasn't alone. Hear me out here, I am not saying that is necessary, but I always recommend at least 45 minutes to an hour each day. Physical activity can be anything too, just be creative and think outside the box. Take your kids sledding or be a kid and go sledding yourself, I do! Now it's evident that the world is getting fatter, we can see it, but what a lot of people don't think about is the health costs that come with obesity! Obesity now costs the government more in health care costs than smoking! Keep in mind smoking kills 47,000 people a year. One study showed "Adults who are at an unhealthy weight are at an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes. In 2005, the total cost of obesity to Canadians was $4.3 billion; $1.8 billion in healthcare costs, and $2.5 billion in indirect costs. Affected adults may die up to 3 to 7 years earlier than counterparts with a healthy weight." (http://www.childhoodobesityfoundation.ca/statistics)
Here is just some of the negative heath effects of obesity:
- Your respiratory system and sleep (sleep apnea, asthma, breathlessness)
- Your digestive system (gallbladder disease / gallstones, eating disorders)
- Your reproductive system (menstrual problems, pregnancy complications, infertility, impotence, birth defects, ovary syndromes)
- Your endocrine (your body's filter) system (pancreatitis, fatty pancreas)
- the cardiovascular system (heart disease, heart attack, elevated cholesterol, abnormal heart rates, hypertension, stroke)
- Your mental health (depression)
- Your liver (Fatty liver disease)
- Your kidneys (kidney stones, chronic kidney disease,)
- Your musculoskeletal (muscles and structures) system (osteoarthritis, gout)
- Your immune (your body's defence) system (inflammation, lowered immunity)
The first step is being aware! Now you know, so let's go make a difference in not only our lives, but the children around us before this trend translates into adulthood!
Cheers
Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca
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