I know when I was in Elementary school, I had transferred many times, and only at one school did I get Gym class. It was a Bi-Weekly whopping 15 minutes.
I for one believe obesity is an epidemic (mostly in America). Most American schools are changing up their Lunch Menus to combat this. Is it enough? Most children bring lunches from home that are wholly unhealthy.
If it's so horrible to smoke a cigarette (It's perfectly acceptable in our society for one to accost someone who is smoking "You're killing yourself") why is it so acceptable to be obese? No one would approach a fat man and tell them that every twinkie they eat takes a minute off their life. It's the same concept.
Parents are getting lazy. So long as you love you children, it doesnt matter if they're morbidly obese at age 7.
So should children get more time in-school for mandatory exercise?
I personally believe that children, as well as adults, should exercise at least 15 minutes everyday. This is coming from a 16yr old which is terminally ill and still managers to have a quite extensive exercise regime.
In my opinion you can never be too old nor ill to do exercise, you can however be too lazy. Excercise benefits you in many ways, including the beneficial weight-loss. When you exercise it also boosts your confidence, not because you loose weight, but because chemicals are released into the bloodstream that make you feel this way.
I think schools should ditch every unhealthy processed food. People, especially young people, need to eat nutritional food, and not frozen chips, processed this, and processed that which is not going to help one single person.
Currently here in the UK there is a supposed School Dinners Reform, which with celebrity Chef jamie Oliver started. I have not eaten dinners at my school for the last 4 years so would not know a difference as I do not see the food but I know that there has been no change.
The other day I watched a tv program about a man who travelled every state in America and only ate McDonalds - if he was asked whether he wanted to "Super-Size" his meal he always had to say yes. I believe it was called "Super-Size Me" although I cannot be sure. The crucial point in it was when some woman (i think she was like the governer of the standards food company - in the UK it is called this, again not too sure about their in the USA). anyways, she was asked a question about the meals. "How comes new, better food is being introduced but the old, bad food is not being taken away ? Her reply was that you need to give children choices" - (not exact wording). This is todays society's outlook on such things. If a child eats a certain food all of their live then of course they are going to choose it from another if they have never had it before if they had too.
In the end of the eposide (i think there was a whole series on it but i only watched one episode) I believe that after 10 days of constantly eating McDonalds, he had gained about 15 pounds which is pretty amazing to say the least.
(I will try and find the exact information regarding the subject and post an update on it)
My seven year old get two periods of 20 minutes each for recess each day, and has gym every third day for 30 minutes. I believe this is plenty of exercise AT SCHOOL. When he gets home, he does not just sit and watch TV, play on the computer (or xbox, etc.). He runs, jumps, screams, hops, rides, etc. for around four hours.
I believe it is up to the parents to make sure their kids get the correct amount of exercise, the correct food intake, the correct up bringing. I do not place that responsibility with the schools, and I'm not sure why others do. My seven year old reads at a 12 or 13 year old rate, he does math at around 5th grade level, he knows more than they teach at school. He did not learn this at school, but at home. He does have very bad drawing skills, (illustrations, and even doing his letters), and that is what he works on at school (along with other things, of course).
It's not the school's place to make the children a certain weight. You go to school to learn skills, socialize, and give structure to life. Now, I'm not saying that schools should feed the children food that is rediculously unhealthy and not offer a healthy alternative. I'm saying that schools should give children the choice of what to drink/eat -- be it something extremely healthy or something that, if eaten in excess, can lead to obeasity.
Perfect example. The year after I graduated from High School, all soda machines were taken out of the HIGH SCHOOL along with vending machines. I personally think that these actions are insane and teenagers of this age should be able to chose for themselves, because they realize the effects of overeating.
All in all, it is the parent's responsibility to get their children to eat right, in my opinion. The child is only in school for roughly 40 hours a week anyway. What they do for the other 128 hours of the week falls under the parent's responsibility. Because if a child eats only carrots and broccoli at school, he/she can still become fat if he/she downs a 2 liter of coke and eats a package of oreos every day after school.
I now pass the soap box to someone else...
At the schools where I live children are given pleanty of time to exercise. They have gym class for 45 minutes to an hour at least twice per week and they have recess for 30 minutes everyday.
There are also tons of athletic opportunities for them such as little leage baseball, soccer, basketball and now our town is starting a midget football team.
I guess that the amount of time a child gets for excercise depends on the area and it's opportunities and where i live, i think they are given pleanty of time and opportunity
I have to agree that it isn't the school's place, but if the parents aren't concerned, shouldn't there be someone to help them to be fit?
My experience with recess is that there will be one group running, another group on the playground, and then a group that's larger than both the others just standing around. This may be a local thing but still what the hell.
| Ultima1080 wrote: |
| All in all, it is the parent's responsibility to get their children to eat right, in my opinion. The child is only in school for roughly 40 hours a week anyway. What they do for the other 128 hours of the week falls under the parent's responsibility. Because if a child eats only carrots and broccoli at school, he/she can still become fat if he/she downs a 2 liter of coke and eats a package of oreos every day after school. |
What I'm trying to say is, since they're already (I think) reforming school lunch, and it isn't as effective, since they can eat a box of oreos and down a 2 liter the minute they get home, then why not give more time for exercise. If the parents won't do it, who will? Social Services 
.
Or they should have manditory paintball games in schools. I'm all for that one. My brother is in the fourth grade and he gets a recess everyday that the weather is good enough. This is a good 30 minute break during the day, get some of the energy out of the kids for them to be able to concentrate in class. When the kids get home from school, they have plenty of time to go outside and do whatever activities they please. My brother gets home at 3, and rarely has homework. He is able to do whatever he wants for a good 4 or 5 hours before dark. This is plenty of time for exercise. The obesity problem in the US is because people are LAZY. They dont want to do anything but sit and watch TV/play on the computer, etc.
| Northgatebaseball wrote: |
| The obesity problem in the US is because people are LAZY. They dont want to do anything but sit and watch TV/play on the computer, etc. |
You're preaching to the choir.I get all the exercise I need running from the cops and heroic citizens.
| madsencarl wrote: |
| I get all the exercise I need running from the cops and heroic citizens. |
.............lmao
What was the question....Oh yes.... No , I think school gym/P.E should focus on the teaching of different games/sports and there rules and sportsmanship and not have to carry the burden of individuals health in the sense of general fitnessI'm pretty sure kids get plenty of time to exercise. In elementary school, I got 15 minutes/day of morning recess and at least another 15 minutes/day of recess during lunch and about an hour of physical education time every few days.
In middle school I got plenty of exercise in physical education class (45 minutes/day) including plenty of stretching and running a cumulative total of two miles per week.
The schools certainly aren't inhibiting childhood fitness. If children aren't getting enough exercise, then they're just not exercising when they get the time to.
I noticed that the same people that I saw in junior high that were walking during our weekly mile runs were the ones that ballooned up during high school.
I goto school in Illinois, which incase you didn't know, has required Physical Education (Gym) class, yet suprisingly is one of the fatest states in America. I am not really sure why our state is so fat, but it no doubt is. I am not a fatty, but that is more due to the Adderal and Volleyball, rather than gym class everyday. It is pretty sad to see some 3rd or 5th grader walking home with a candybar in one hand and a soda in the other and then a gigantic sack of fat around his belly, but not realize how fat he is, because of how young he is. Oh and BTW, our school's new and improved lunch menus are anything but healthy.
i think if more kids got into paintball... we would be better off...
