A Call to Action!

I must say this topic today isn't so much about adopting a habit to help you gain your health and wellbeing BECAUSE of the food you choose as it is about asking for your thoughts and feedback on something that has been bugging the devil out of me for far too long.  And of course it comes with a background story....

I had a nice long visit with a cute little friend yesterday who is decades younger than me and therefore in a totally different phase of her life as a mama.  I adore hearing kid stories; that's the truth.  They don't bore me, they don't make me butt in and add one of mine...they just allow me to observe (and yes, remember) that season of life with those precious gifts, our children.

My friend has 2 kids in elementary school and while both are the same gender, they are vastly different.  Where one is blond, the other is dark.  Where one is outgoing, the other is reserved.  Where one is naturally thin, the other isn't.  (You see where this is going, don't you?)

Without going into detail, this sweet mama broke my heart yesterday as she tearfully described the perfectly healthy and appropriate typical daily menu she provided to both kids.  She added in all the extracurricular activities that provided ample opportunity for exercise for each.  She was at a loss at what is going on with her child and why this kid was already struggling, both physically and emotionally with weight.

Sighhhhh.  It makes me sad just to sit here and type this.  And it brought back memories.  Like I've said before, I don't remember much about my childhood, and no, it doesn't freak me out and make me suspicious (all you repressed memory theorists!)  One time, in 4th grade PE, we were asked to line up on the stage in the cafeteria so we could be weighed on a doctor's scale.  The adult weighing each of us would then tell another adult, who was the recorder of the weights, what little Susie's or little Bobby's weight was.  Only she was sitting out in the audience, monitoring the other three 4th grade classes sitting there waiting their turn to be humiliated and violated by these loud and public announcements.  So weigher on the stage is hollering to recorder sitting probably 30 feet away each time another child would step on that scale.  (I still just shake my head at the audacity, impropriety and sheer inefficiency of this system.)  Now for those of you who don't know, typical weights called out would be somewhere in the 60-70 pound range back then.  (It would be interesting indeed to see what a typical 10 year old weighs today, no?) 

And then it was my turn.  I weighed 93.  The weigher witch screamed it.  The beast taking down the weights yelled back, "HOW MUCH?"  And I swear you could've heard a pin drop when she repeated, in THAT tone of voice, "93!!!"  And at that, with literally 100 sets of eyes on me, I got off the scale and took my seat. Talk about a defining moment.....

So back to my friend.  She said she figured out that her child was spending money on extras during lunch at school.  She described the choices and the serving sizes that the kids were presented with.  And a bell went off.

I don't think there's any ONE solution to the rampant, disturbing and threatening trend of obesity that is here within our younger population.  (The headlines this week shocked me:  40% of our kids are obese.  Not just overweight.  Not chunky.  Not chubby.  OBESE.  That's nearly one out of 2, friends.)  But I do know this:  this is a call to arms.  We have to care.  We have to be the voice of reason and action to change this.  We must get rid of the junk offered our kids in schools.  We must be thoughtful and reasonable about what we feed them at home.  We must get them to turn off their technological toys and get them outside for some exercise.  We must set healthy examples so they can learn how to treat themselves well from an early age.

I'm stirred up.  I feel like if enough of us put some thought to this dreadful and scary state of affairs, we could change things.  Where do we start?  Sign me UP.