Banning Recess Boosts Childhood Obesity

The current obesity statistics are mind-blowing:

• Two-thirds of America's adults are overweight or obese
• As many as 30 percent of U.S. children are overweight
• Childhood obesity has more than doubled within the past 25 years
• Within the past 20 years, childhood diabetes has increased 10-fold

If this epidemic is not reversed we will, for the first time in history, see children living shorter lives than their parents. I am convinced that we will wake up long before that. That is one of the primary purposes of this newsletter.

To reverse this catastrophic trend by providing the tools to escape from the ravages of poor food choices and reliance on dangerous Band-Aid drugs.

The elimination of free play at school recess is one shocking reflection on the state of education in the United States today. This action will only further accelerate the epidemic of childhood obesity we are now experiencing  It is nearly incomprehensible to me that school districts would ban one of the few activities left that promote health in school -- playing independently at recess.

Exercise and spontaneous movement are an absolute requirement to stay healthy. Spontaneous child play is probably the ideal form of exercise as they are having a great deal of fun doing it.

To limit this activity and encourage them to engage in more passive pursuits is a major step in the wrong direction, especially in light of the elimination of compulsory physical education program in nearly every U.S. school district.

I am a native Chicagoan and am pleased to note that Illinois is the only state in the country that still requires PE every day from kindergarten through high school.  I remember very clearly the fun and enjoyment I had in my PE classes 30 and 40 years ago and am delighted that they are still required in Illinois. However, I am deeply saddened that nearly every child in the United States now misses this experience that serves as a powerful protective influence against developing obesity.

Dr. Ben Lerner and I have written a book that will be published early next year about this problem. It will offer some very specific practical guidelines that should have a major impact on this epidemic.

Until the book comes out I have three powerful recommendations for any children you have:

• Increase Exercise
• Eliminate soda
• Decrease or eliminate TV time

TV is one of the most pernicious influences and I couldn't recommend stopping it more strongly. Not only will it decrease their activity level, but also it will expose them to commercials promoting worthless foods.

Parents need to step in and set guidelines as to how much TV their children should watch and also encourage them to participate in sports or other physical activities instead of watching TV.

Interestingly, cutting out the TV will also decrease their risk of going into debt.