Our Best “Defense”: Be Active & Move!
August 31st, 2010Interesting… I was just reading on the front page of the NY Times how the military is recognizing that the recruits of the this day and age are much less fit and more overweight than those of past generations and that they are having to re-structure basic training to work with this lack of health and fitness.
Wow.
In the past, recruits naturally were more fit as kids were more active, playing outside, and participating in regular physical education classes in school. Today, our generation of kids is a product of excessive junk food, computer activity and video games. NOT a good combination. As Gen. Mark Hertling who oversees basic training for the Army says, “This is not just an Army issue. This is a national issue.” According to a report titled “Too Fit to Fight,” put out by a group of retired general and admirals, “Between 1995 and 2008, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their physicals each year because they were overweight rose nearly 70 percent.”
Another wow!!!
For the last several years now, with the cutbacks in education, sadly one of the biggest things “cut” is P.E. classes. Why? Because somewhere, someone feels it’s unnecessary? Is this “someone” someone who doesn’t exercise themselves because I don’t understand the logic at all. Yes, it’s obvious I am passionate about this but I just have to ask, how ridiculous is this? Kids need to move! Kids need to play! They cannot sit in a classroom all day learning about math, reading, history, etc, without having breaks to run and play! As a kid, I sooooo looked forward to those breaks in the day! It gave the mind a break and I came back to class feeling energized!
The bottomline is we ALL need to move… daily! Without daily activity, especially for our children, what kind of future are we creating for our country? We all say that we have to “defend” our country… from who? From ourselves? And our own culture that is literally killing us and our children?
One of my favorite quotes is from Goethe… he says, “Let all sweep in front of their own door and the whole world will be clean.”
Our best “defense” in sustaining the health and future of our nation is not so much about our “outside threats,” rather it is right here in our own backyard… taking care of what is needed right now… the health & well-being of our own citizens. Our “worst enemy” is the junk food diet and sedentary way of life that has sadly become the norm. But again, this isn’t just in the governments’ hands, it’s in our own. Take personal responsibility for your own health as well as the health of your children. We can’t worry about something “out there” when we’re literally killing ourselves in our own home.
Be Active and Move! BAM!
On a side note in regards to being active and moving, I wanted to just acknowledge a woman, Diana Nyad - the sports columnist for a local radio station, KCRW - in her quest to swim from Florida to Cuba! It’s her second try… Wow!
Here’s a few links to learn about her and her incredible feat:
www.kcrw.com/dream
http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2010/08/mother-nature-and-diana-nyad.html
NOTE: When I say we have to move, I don’t necessarily mean you have to swim to Cuba - ha! - but an invigorating 30 minute walk outside will do!
Cheers to you!
Lisa