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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Fitness / Pudgy Preschoolers Hit the Gym

Pudgy Preschoolers Hit the Gym

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

[108/365] Ill-advisedChildhood obesity is not just a problem in the United States anymore where presently about 1 in 3 children are either overweight or obese.

While not quite as severe, the accelerating rate of childhood obesity in Australia which currently stands at about 25% have some taking extreme measures to combat it.

People have become so worried about this problem Down Under that kiddie gyms are being set up at daycare centers and even the homes of children ages 3-5 years old.

Kiddie gyms come complete with treadmills, weight benches and even rowing machines.

Some daycare centers are even charging membership fees for children to use the equipment much like adult gyms and fitness centers.

Has this approach to reversing the increasing trend of childhood obesity gone too far?

It seems that children should really be playing outside in the fresh air and sunshine for their exercise, not doing the lab rat on a treadmill.

The boring, repetitive nature of treadmills, rowing machines and the like may actually backfire and teach children to hate exercise rather than embrace it as the fun, creative experience it is supposed to be.

It would be interesting to go through the pantries of the families who are installing these mini gyms in their homes.  Are the pantries full of chips, crackers, cookies, fruit juice boxes, soda and other processed foods?

Are the children allowed to eat mindlessly in front of a constantly turned on TV?

Sadly, the answer to both of these questions is likely yes which means that such gyms would have little impact on the child’s overall health until the underlying reasons for the problem are addressed.

Since kiddie gyms require adult supervision anyway to prevent injury, it seems that the time would be better spent taking the child to the park or for a bike ride.   At least then, fresh air and possibly some Vitamin D producing sunshine would be involved.

On a brighter note, one very effective use for the kiddie gyms has been discovered by hospitals.  The gyms are being used to help children recover from car accidents.

 

Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com

Source:  Kiddie Gyms Being Set Up for Tubby Toddlers

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Category: Fitness, Healthy Living
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: the bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (31)

  1. Eliza Katherine via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2011 at 5:38 am

    And Keria – my mother is from America but I have grown up in Sydney (with regular trips to the states) – we are almost as bad as the US with our public health now. I think we are a close second for obesity rates? Pity we can’t apply the same competitiveness to our cultural output :/

    Reply
  2. Eliza Katherine via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2011 at 5:33 am

    A little off topic, but I am from Sydney, Australia and have access to raw milk from pasture-raised jersey cows. Anyone is welcome to inbox me if they are interested! Sarah you are unfortunately right about the raw butter and cream though, very tricky to get unless you live in Queensland.

    Reply
  3. thehealthyhomeeconomist via Facebook

    Oct 17, 2011 at 9:34 pm

    Actually, it is nearly impossible to get raw cream or raw butter in Australia – anywhere I’m told. You can get raw milk but even that is very difficult and it is from holsteins not jerseys. My husband is from Australia so we keep up on the happenings there and at one time were seriously considering a move there but a big reason why we didn’t go through with it was because we realized we would not have as easy access to raw dairy as we do here in Florida.

    Reply
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