Leading By Example For Childhood Obesity Awareness
By Jeff
I’ve always believed the best way to help others in the area of kids health is to lead by example. I can’t just sit here behind a computer and wish for the number of people struggling with childhood obesity to go down.
I need to first practice what I preach at home. I need to show my kids what healthy eating is supposed to look like. I need to show my kids what fun fitness is all about.
If I can help raise a healthy family then we can be an influence on our neighbors, town, city and state. Just think if we had a neighborhood full of healthy families!
What One Group Is Doing About Childhood Obesity
The Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (PSAHPERD) is leading by example and I commend them for this.
30 members from this group will ride their bikes from Harrisburg, PA to Washington, DC. in three days time. Their goal is to spread the message of living a healthy lifestyle to help prevent childhood obesity. Here’s info on what child obesity actually is. www.myfamilyexercise.com/what-is-childhood-obesity-exactly.html.
They are right on target with this. It’s not about a diet or a boot camp which will keep our kids away from childhood obesity complications.
It’s a healthy lifestyle through and through. Healthier food choices, fun fitness and proper rest is all part of the equation.
“PSAHPERD members are thrilled to come together with other physical educators and advocates from different states to promote a unified message of maintaining a well balanced lifestyle through health and physical activity starting as a child. We are all in this together!” says Kimberley Razzano.” read more
Let’s Educate Families First Regarding Childhood Obesity
I think what the PSAHPERD organization is doing is great! This bike ride is going to show many families the importance of kids health and I think it also shows that there are people who care about them.
I’ve always thought the priority is to educate families. Sort of like a grassroots effort. I’ll never be a fan of getting government involved in yet another area of our lives though. People need to be educated and then voluntarily make healthy lifestyle changes or else those changes might not stick.
I personally don’t believe we need legislation concerning childhood obesity prevention. I’ve found most parents don’t respond in a positive way when legislators are telling them what to do.
Parents respond better when they are shown in a loving manner the best ways to have a healthier family.
In the end I still think this bike ride is a good thing and will hopefully influence families watching that we can indeed have more physical education, health education and physical activity opportunities in schools and communities.
While they are doing this let’s lead by example in our own communities for childhood obesity awareness.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Topics: Kids Weight Loss | 2 Comments »
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July 6th, 2012 at 10:30 am
Hi Jeff,
It really is great to lead by example. I think it is very effective and efficient. As the saying goes “Action speaks louder than words”.
I think that government involvement can be very instrumental in making the public aware of the obesity situation and support them in taking action.
I am an Early Childhood Education Consultant and Trainer and what I find is if there is no regulatory involvement a great majority of people will not voluntarily comply.
I think it’s great that people like you and myself are providing resources and making people aware of this situation. Because if it continues at the rate that it’s going this will be the first generation of children to die before their parents. We can’t let that happen. Thank you so much for your passion and commitment.
July 6th, 2012 at 10:57 am
Thank you for your comment DTaRelle! I’m all for the government using it’s resources to help spread the message of a healthy.
I’ve just seen over the years parents not respond in a favorable manner to it because it comes across as finger pointing instead of education.
If you begin to penalize parents through fines much like the soda ban, it comes across as a revenue generating scheme versus education for the family.
I agree with you and believe you and I need to keep leading by example with other healthy families because it will make a difference.