Why Are Our Children Overweight?

According to a recent U.S. surgeon general’s report, in 1999, 13% of children 6 to 11 and 14% of those 12 to 19 in the United States were overweight, putting them at greater risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. The report also found that although the most immediate consequence of obesity in children is that they experience social discrimination, overweight adolescents also have a 70% chance of becoming obese adults.

MARY REESE BOYKIN spoke with a Los Angeles Unified School District physical education teacher about fitness and diet among youths.

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SARAI BAYLOR

Physical education teacher working at several LAUSD schools

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I have taught physical education for 22 years. In recent years, students have become lazier, more inactive.

During the administration of President John F. Kennedy, the emphasis was on making sure that children in the United States were as healthy as--or healthier than--children of the Soviet Union. Four years of physical education were required.

Now high schools require only two years.

Students don’t think physical education class is important. I know girls who take dancing as their physical education elective. There are days when they refuse to dress for class. Sure, they dance well and enjoy the activity. But they have a problem with things that are structured. The goal of the physical education program is to help students appreciate physical activities--walking, swimming, bowling, tennis, in-line skating--for a lifetime.

We teachers need to help them to understand that physical activity promotes emotional health. It helps the brain function more efficiently. It makes the heart healthier and reduces the risk of stroke.

One of the keys to helping students improve their level of physical activity is to motivate them by finding out what they like to do. Maybe a child can’t make layups but can shoot free throws. Maybe a child can’t hit the ball far but can pitch.

If we can create environments in which children feel that they are just competing against themselves rather than against other children, we may help them do their best.

In my adaptive physical education class, I have a student who is overweight, though she has good motor skills. She was used to telling people what she was not going to do or was not capable of doing. At first, it took her the entire period to walk a mile around the track. I labored with her and would not allow her an easy way out. Now she walks the mile in 20 minutes.

Poor diet contributes to obesity. I observe students coming to school with fried chicken, pork chop sandwiches, hamburgers, burritos, soda, candy.

Some parents assume that because the child has reduced-price or free lunch, that he is eating breakfast at school. But sometimes pride prevents the children from participating in the program.

Parents must set the example of healthy eating. In my classes, I stress the importance of fiber and grain in the diet. Of course, it is one thing to say that this is the way you should eat; it is another for people to be able to afford to eat properly.

We cannot overlook how the stresses of young people’s lives affect their weight.

Dorsey High School has the highest percentage of student population living in group homes in the state.

Some students live with grandparents or great-grandparents.

When children are surviving by whatever means they can, some don’t eat; others overeat. Some have self-image problems that must be overcome. They think that everybody sees them in the way that they have been conditioned to see themselves.

We as teachers must motivate children, labor with them, let them know that we care, be there for them, even when their peers are cruel. In this way, we can help them make lifestyle changes that will improve their health.