San
Antonio is widely known for its beautiful
tourist attractions such as the River
Walk and the historical Alamo. But
do you know what else this city is
known for? Being one of the fattest
cities in the nation.
A recent article in Men’s Fitness
magazine ranked America’s fittest
and fattest cities; San Antonio was
runner-up in the 2007 fattest cities
category.
So what’s going on? Why are
we so fat? Well, I believe that although
you may see yourself as fit or healthy
there is a whole other reason that
may be helping us tip the scale, and
it’s kids.
I don’t believe I’m alone
in thinking that children are more
overweight and less active than ever
thanks to the convenience of fast
food, high fructose syrup, and video
games. Yes, that’s right, video
games.
Well, now some billion-dollar video
company has expressed a “concern”
regarding the epidemic of child obesity
and has developed yet another video
game that is supposed to teach children
how to avoid being overweight.
The game is called “Body Mechanics”
and it is supposed to promote more
exercise and better eating habits.
My only concern is that it lacks in
the cardio activity department, meaning
your child is not going to be doing
jumping-jacks or picking cherries
in your living room.
So, what’s the point of the
game? It’s supposed to
make learning fun. I’ll
tell you what’s more fun, playing
outside.
Besides children sit at school for
the majority of the day while teachers
figure out how to make learning fun
and parents should be trying to figure
out how to create healthier eating
habits. It’s plain and simple.
So now you’re probably asking,
“What if I don’t have
any time to cook a healthy dinner?”
I would have to respond by saying
quit making excuses, fast food is
easy to pick up on the way home but
it’s not healthy to eat it every
day, especially if you or your children
are not physically active.
I’m not completely bashing video
games because there are some really
PC-savvy 8-year-olds out there but
I think limiting the time spent in
front of the TV set or computer and
using it to show your child how to
ride a bike or jump rope will be far
more rewarding than managing cholesterol
or diabetes.
As the old saying goes, “You
are what you eat.”
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