Complete catalog The culture of our country has changed dramatically in the past 100 years. Along with the inventions of modern conveniences and more electronic gadgets than a person can count, we have, in many ways, lost the blessings of hard work and a healthy diet. Poor eating habits and lack of exercise is fueling childhood obesity. The number of children with Type 2 diabetes linked to bad diet and lack of exercise is also increasing. Doctors say lack of exercise is one of the key risk factors for serious illnesses, such as diabetes and pediatric hypertension. Today childhood obesity is considered the top concern of parents and a high percentage of children are suffering from diabetes and other serious illnesses. America 100 Years Ago and Today There was a time when families lived off the land. Everyone, including the children, worked hard to survive. They grew and handmade most of their food, clothes, and whatever else they needed. Exercise was a by-product of their lifestyle. I don't expect they ever had scheduled exercise programs in the gym to stay active. Young and old alike got their share of work with chores around the house and farm. Even in play, exercise was a by-product of their lifestyle. Today the lifestyle of many children in our country has changed. They get very little exercise and spend many hours watching TV and playing video games. A study released in 2008 found that roughly 32 percent of American children were overweight but not obese, 16 percent were obese (defined as 30 pounds or more overweight) and 11 percent were extremely obese. This means one in two American children is overweight or obese. Parents Must Take a Stand So what can we do to protect our families from the dreaded consequences of lack of exercise? It is your responsibility as parents to take control of your lifestyle. It must begin with a vision to work together as a family and make opportunities for physical activity. Arrange your lifestyle as a family so that exercise becomes a by-product. One of the most effective ways to reduce obesity is to reduce (or eliminate) the time your children spend in front of the TV and give them work to do or opportunities to be physically active on a consistent basis. Put your children to work around the house and yard. The easiest place to do this is in the country with room to run and play, explore the woods, grow food in the garden, raise a few animals, and other things that give your children physical activity. If this ideal is out of reach for you, think of opportunities you can make to work together as a family or play with your children. A backyard wood swingset, a nice deck or patio with a barbecue grill and some attractive outdoor furniture, a few backyard games, and some landscaping shrubs and flowers can turn an otherwise boring backyard into a refreshing retreat. A setting such as this can provide an excellent place to spend many evenings together with your children. The Healthy Benefits of Exercise for Your Children Exercise has many benefits to offer you. Besides helping to reduce diabetes and other serious diseases, proper exercise that raises your heartbeat increases your ability to think. Exercise also helps a person sleep more soundly. Train your children to exercise by giving them the wonderful opportunity of growing up in a setting where exercise is a by-product of their lifestyle. Help your children get the exercise they need, and they will be able to think more clearly. They should also sleep more soundly, which will make them more alert in their studies. Couple exercise with a healthy diet, and you should be on the right track for strong and healthy children. Since 1992, Woodplay has been working hard to design and build a creative line of wood swingsets that inspire children to get more physical exercise and encourage families to spend quality time together in their own backyard. They firmly believe that "children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward."     Shrinking Childhood Obesity After-school used to be dedicated to stick ball and tree-climbing. Now kids sit in dark rooms hunched two feet away from the latest Xbox game, exercising their well-toned thumb muscles but little else. No wonder almost one in five kids is overweight and Type 2 diabetes – formerly a disease only of adults – is slamming youngsters all over the nation. Overweight kids carry their risky excess pounds around for many more years than a beer-bellied adult, and their lifelong risk of health complications like cardiovascular disease is consequently much greater. Obviously, the childhood obesity epidemic is caused by more than just lack of exercise. The foods that surround us are unhealthful and come in epic portion sizes, and the advertisements used to convince young minds they want these foods are pervasive. When kids cry in the supermarket for the latest puffed corn vehicle for sugar, which they saw during their favorite cartoon and that comes with a free plastic advertisement for some movie, dumping a little milk on it doesn’t balance the equation. Junk and fast food is everywhere and cheap; eating healthfully takes money, planning and time that most of us don’t feel like we have. What can we do? For starters, says Martha Schneider, a physical therapist who co-directs a program called Kids on the Move (KOTM) at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, behave the way you want your child to behave. “Research shows that an overweight child whose parents actively participate in the child’s weight-loss efforts is more likely to succeed at losing weight and maintaining the lowered weight than a child whose parents do not participate,” she says. “When a child’s parents exercise and prepare and eat healthy meals with the overweight child, the child is more likely to persist through lifestyle changes, which are often very difficult.” Her program for overweight kids and their parents follows this tenet. Parents must be present at each of eight 1 1/2-hour sessions. They go with their kids to a meeting with a nutritionist to assess and revise the child’s diet, as well as group nutritionist sessions to learn how to read labels and plan healthy snacks. Everyone in the group listens to a child life specialist, who helps children overcome self-esteem and bullying issues. And, most importantly, everyone participates in the weekly exercise session. Parents put on their sneakers for the strength training, cardiovascular workouts, martial arts and yoga - and they have fun. “Put kids together with kids their own age and parents talk to each other, they look forward to working out together,” says Schneider. Kids also participate in the other biggest part of being overweight – food. During the classes, they learn how to make healthy foods and then eat them afterwards. Schneider hopes kids who like to exercise will have less “screen time” – time spent staring at a TV, computer, or handheld device – and get moving instead. Gyms for kids have begun sprouting up all over with specialized programs – My Gym has a few locations in Massachusetts and holds weekly classes using music, sports, gymnastics and dance to get kids moving with cool, colorful equipment that changes each week. Gymboree also holds fitness classes. But going to these lengths isn’t necessary. Give your kids a basketball or rope swing for their birthday instead of a video game. “Many adult diseases are striking kids, like atherosclerosis and hypertension. A lot of parents don’t comprehend this yet,” notes Schneider. Modeling a healthy lifestyle for your children – showing them, not telling them, how to live - can fend off a lot of terrible health problems down the road.