Remembering Our Childhood

When we were children, we couldn’t play in the house. We didn’t have the benefits of computers, cell phones, Gameboys, Nintendos and the like. You got 3 or 4 channels on the TV and that was it. Modern technology as we know it now, was probably at the beginning stages. But then again, we didn’t care! We also didn’t live in those big houses with huge rooms. We played outside and had a great time! We just had to be in the house or our own yard before the sun went down. Anytime, after was a mind-jarring and painful experience. We didn’t sass or talk back to our parents and we only had two chances to answer them when they called. The first time you might not have heard them, the second time you did. If you didn’t obey then, let’s just say “A spare rod spoils the child.” These children couldn’t handle what we had to go through. Then again, this generation is faced with a different set of problems than we had. These modern conveniences can be a benefit and a detriment to a child’s growth and appreciation. I’m going off on a tangent. What I want to say is children are not exercising anymore like they used to. In school, during, recess, we played, we had gym class. We played at home, in our yard, in other people’s yards, in the streets, and in the park. We had physical workouts and we ate balanced meals! It was safer then because neighbors and almost everyone else seemed to care what the children did. Now, it’s dangerous for children to play outside even in their own yards!

The Cop, The Professor, and the President

I know, I was supposed to talk about our children exercising but this mess came up recently regarding a black professor and a white policeman being called to the professor’s residence about a possible break-in. I want address this briefly and my next submission will be on the young ones. A neighbor called the policeman because it seemed that someone was breaking into her neighbor’s home. I want go into the details, I’m sure most of you are aware of the situation esp., since the President gave his opinion. Once again, we are like lambs led to the slaughter by the media. We haven’t enough sense to see what’s going on. We believe everything we read even if it’s only half of the truth. Yes, the President did say, ”The police acted stupidly after they realized that Gates was the owner of the house.” The media saw an opportunity and used only “acted stupidly” to generate more unrest and tension among the American people. Bad news sell and the media is all about selling! We are “acting stupidly” by allowing this kind of mind control to take over our will to be tolerant towards each other. The media is very aware of racial tensions and there are many of us unwilling to have a dialogue to discuss it. It’s a lot easier to blog than to talk face-to-face. There are pockets out here that do not want racial equality or peaceful coexistence. Let’s face it. Read the blogs, look at the news, talk to your neighbors, you will find that the more we progress, the more we become afraid. And until you walk for a while in another person’s shoes, you will never know what they had to walk through to get where they are. Obviously, many of us are unwilling to change. But many more of us are disgusted at the hatred and dislike for others that are still prevalent.

New Attitude

Let’s be realistic! It took time to put those extra pounds on us, so it will take time for it to come off! Some of us like to eat, so we need to back off, develop a new lifestyle which will include eating the proper foods, rest, and exercise. We must commit to these new changes and be patient. It may take a while for the change to come but we can feel it on the inside before we the changes on the outside. Some of us eat too much because of nervousness, boredom, low self-esteem, glandular problems or for various reason. These problems may require medical help. In fact, when we begin our new change, it wouldn’t hurt to let our doctor know. But we must begin the change with a new attitude. Regardless of what people think about our outside, we have got to feel good about ourselves inside! Take your time and don't over do it! We don't want to use adiet program without the doctor's advice. And we definitely don't want to hurt ourselves with these quick and easy weight-off-in-weeks plans! Take it slow, commit and dedicate! See yourself in the future looking good! Don't worry! I got something to say about the children next!

Developing a Healthy Habit

Our environment doesn’t always help with healthy lifestyle habits; it can encourage obesity. Some reasons are:

• Lack of neighborhood sidewalks and safe places for recreation. Not having area parks, trails, sidewalks, and affordable gyms makes it hard for people to be physically active.
• Work schedules. People often say that they don’t have time to be physically active given the long hours at work and the time spent commuting back and forth to work. We could find the time, if available and safe, walk at work.
• We like oversized meals. Americans are surrounded by huge food portions in restaurants, fast food places, gas stations, movie theaters, supermarkets, and even home. Some of these meals and snacks can feed two or more people. Over time, this will cause weight gain if it isn’t balanced with physical activity.
• Lack of access to healthy foods. Some people don’t live in neighborhoods that have supermarkets that sell healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Or if they do, these items are often too costly.
• Food advertising. We are surrounded by ads from food companies. Most of the time children are the targets of advertising for high-calorie, high-fat snacks and sugary drinks. The goal of these ads is to sway people to buy these high-calorie foods, and often wedo. Then we think the kids got problems. We helped to get them started.

We Can Do It

Our weight is a result of many factors. These factors include environment, family history and genetics, metabolism, behavior or habits, and other factors. We can’t change our family history. But, other things—like our lifestyle habits—can be changed!

Obesity

Millions of Americans and people worldwide are overweight or obese. Being overweight or obese puts us at risk for many diseases and conditions. The more body fat that we carry around and the more we weigh, the more likely we are to develop heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems, and certain cancers.

BMIs

The National Center for Health (NCH) has also been tracking America’s obesity problem for more than four decades. Their findings given below support the growing obesity epidemic in America.
· Between 1962 and 2000, the obese people grew from 13% to 31% of the population.
· 63% of Americans are overweight with a BMI in excess of 25.0.
· 31% are obese with a BMI in excess of 30.0.
· Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past two decades.
· Obesity is responsible for 300,000 deaths every year.