I recently read an Editorial in my local Guelph Tribune which was discussing the city’s newly released strategic master plan for recreation, parks and culture in Guelph over the next 10 years. While the document discusses baseball diamonds and skateboard parks, it also alludes to national data on physical inactivity and poor eating decisions. It ain't looking pretty...
"[Canadians are] facing a national health care crisis caused by a combination of physical inactivity and poor eating decisions within most populations across the country." The combined effects of these unhealthy lifestyle choices are leading to a staggering rise in both adult and childhood obesity rates (who ever heard of "childhood obesity" 20-30 years ago?). More and more of us aren’t active enough to sustain adequate health levels over our lifetime and the situation is getting worse.
So there’s the hook, we’ve got the line, here comes the sink. "In fact, there is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that for the first time in history, the current younger generation will not have the longevity or quality of life enjoyed by their parents." (my emphasis)
I had to reread that one twice. There is so much of our North American lifestyle that we take for granted. Today, we have the ability to fend off and even eradicate the majority of infectious disease. Today, we have access to a worldwide food supply, with overflowing stacks of fruits and vegetables in countless markets and supermarkets. In Canada our kids go the doctor when they're sick, for free. Today, we have the technology to sleep cool in our beds on hot summer nights and warm under the sheets on a dark blistery winter eve.
Our stores and shopping malls offer near limitless choice of products, good, and services. More than anyone could ever want. Certainly more than anyone could ever need (regardless of what the marketing juggernauts attempt to convince us of otherwise).
The average child in North America lives a life of comfort and convenience our grandparents could only dream of. Endless entertainment abounds. Thoughts of actual basic survival and meeting the first and second level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Physiological and Safety) likely never even surface to conscious level in our kids. The vast majority have thankfully never experienced war, or a holocaust, or a genocide, or ethnic cleansing, or any other soul-shattering tragedy. << insert your personal Deity thanks here ... >>
Of course, there are exceptions. There are many children who live below the poverty line and many other inequities are prevalent in our society that is simultaneously both glutonous and barren. Yet when we do have access to those near limitless food choices, we must aim to provide our kids with the nutrition that will make them thrive and prosper. We must avoid at all costs, a situation where the current younger generation will not have the longevity or quality of life enjoyed by their parents, as reported above. In our abundant society, it is simply an insult to our future generations and shows a collective lack of respect and care for that which is the most important -- our progeny. Forget the oil and the lumber and the quarries. There is no more important "resource" than our children. Why are we not protecting them better? What are we doing instead? And why???
How can hopscotch and "capture the flag" compete with PS3 and Facebook? Is there a way out of the breakfast-cereal-with-marshmallows trap? How can we help kids (and adults) skip pop for breakfast? How can we rediscover how to cook with the most basic of ingredients and avoid prepackaged nutritionally deficient fare? We had better find a way. Our very children's lives (and our future) are at stake.
It is essential that our kids (and their parents) have access to healthy diets, preferably full of organic food. Exercise should be a part of every day. The alternative is already manifesting itself and we have a communal responsibility to change this. What better way to start than going for a family walk (or bike) after that healthy dinner everyone had a part of making!
Jason
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