Maybe it starts with Thanksgiving — the turkey, the stuffing,
mashed potatoes swimming in gravy, Aunt Gertie's Jell-O® Surprise,
and pumpkin pie buried in whipped cream. Then the holiday steam
train is rolling, and every time you turn around there are get-togethers
complete with a smorgasbord of calorie-laden, but oh-so-tasty,
treats. And if it ended with ringing in the New Year, and everyone
actually stuck to their resolutions to drop a few pounds and
get some exercise on a regular basis, everything would be fine.
But that isn't reality, and holidays aside, we cram so
much into our typical day — getting the kids where they
need to be, braving the traffic to and from the office, stopping
by the store, the dry cleaner, the gas station — by the
end of the day we feel exhausted. That must mean we're
being active, right?
Not necessarily. We may be going a million miles an hour, but
thanks to our "car culture" we're not getting
much exercise doing it. And our kids are right there in the backseat
learning from us. Our sedentary lifestyle becomes one, giant,
family-shared, bad habit that can lead to weight gain and other
serious health issues. Statistics show that nearly half of all
young people between the ages of twelve and twenty-one are not
vigorously active, and the percentage of children ages six to
eleven who are considered overweight has risen 300 percent in
the last twenty-five years. Project those statistics another
twenty-five years into the future and we're talking about
our grown children facing severe hypertension, soaring cholesterol,
diabetes, and drastically shortened life spans.
Fortunately, this dire prediction is only one possible outcome.
Steps you take today with your children can and will create a
much sunnier future for your entire family.
Sending your children to camp is a great way to ensure they
get some much needed exercise in a fun environment that won't
leave them feeling like they're doing penance for one too
many cheese doodles. And if weight is already a concern, there
are camp programs available that are designed to work on the
attitudes and habits behind the issue — changing it from
the inside out.
"It takes about twenty-one to twenty-eight days to break
a habit, put in place a new habit, and then work toward your
goal," said Jean Huelsing, RN and founder of Camp Jump
Start. "It is our mission to help individuals and families
choose healthy lifestyles that will improve their quantity as
well as quality of their life through experiential learning.
We assist not only the camper but the family to develop a healthy
lifestyle action plan."
Flip Shulman, director of the all-girl Camp Pennbrook, agrees
it's about focusing on making changes kids can continue
when they leave camp. "Everything we do at camp is geared
for what to do when you come home," he said. "We
even take the girls to restaurants several times during the summer
so that they can see how to adapt to any real-life situation.
"The program also focuses on building self-esteem," said
Shulman, because while exercise and poor food habits are a large
part of the problem, emotional health plays a role, too.
Huelsing said it's also important to understand that "overweight
and obese children do not think like adults. Adult life experience
says that if we go on some fad diet and in a week lose two pounds,
we are heading in the right direction. A child only lives for
today. That is why they get into trouble, because they do not
see the long-term consequences of their choices and actions."
Whether weight loss is the ultimate goal or not, American Camp
Association-Accredited® camps are committed to infusing
children's lives with exercise, clean living, and activities
that build their sense of self-worth, all factors that can have
a positive impact on establishing healthy habits back at home.
The bottom line (not to mention the waistline) is active children
become active adults. Determining today to break your family
out of a sedentary lifestyle could mean better health for generations
to come.
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