We've Got Ourselves Into A Little Situation...

Attention US Citizens: We have a huge problem going on right now. Take a look around. Kids are out of shape. They are overweight. They are obese. How did all this happen?

Back in the day (I can say that now because I am in my thirties), activities were aplenty. If we weren't playing football, we were shooting hoops. If it wasn't basketball, then it must have been street hockey. And if we weren't doing any of that, then we were probably out on our bikes doing God knows what. Nowadays, 85% of kids live within walking distance of a playground. Do you think they are using them? Again, take a look around if you don't know the answer.

There is a childhood inactivity crisis and it is not just going on here in the States. Active Healthy Kids (an organization created to fixing this issue) did a little research. They identified a few areas to grade all participating countries, there were 38 of them, and continents, 6 of those. The areas they looked and results are as follows: 

• Overall Physical Activity – Slovenia leads with an A-; Belgium, Chile, China, Estonia, Qatar, Scotland and United Arab Emirates lag with an F
• Sedentary Behaviours – Slovenia leads with a B+; Canada, China, Estonia, South Korea, Nigeria, Scotland and South Africa lag with an F
• Organized Sport Participation – Denmark leads with an A; China and Mozambique lag with an F
• Active Transportation – Netherlands and Zimbabwe lead with an A and A-; United Arab Emirates and United States lag with an F
• Active Play – Ghana, Kenya and Netherlands lead with a B; Thailand lags with an F
• Family and Peers – China, the Netherlands and Thailand lead with a B; Ghana lags with an F, though many countries had inadequate data to grade this indicator
• School – Slovenia leads with an A; Mexico lags with a D-
• Community and the Built Environment – Netherlands leads with an A and Canada with an A-; Ghana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe lag with an F
• Government Strategies and Investments – Denmark leads with an A-; Mozambique lags with an F

THE RESULT OF ALL THIS: AVERAGE SCORES WERE A D

Now, if your kid came home with a D, what would you say to them? Some schools like the one I went to didn't even offer D's! For some kids, that D offers an out. Technically speaking, it is not failing. Your kid can come home and say, "but Dad, atleast I passed!" No, no, no. That shouldn't fly. It is not OK for your child to come home with a D on their report so it definitely shouldn't be OK for our country to be graded out as a D in regards to activity levels among our children. 

So where did we all go wrong? As we have seen developments in areas like technology, we have seen decreases in activity levels. There are a lot of options for kids these days. 
Automation, mechanization, urbanization, and digitization have reduced physical activity levels not only in our country but around the world! We need to do better. It starts and ends with the grownups who work with or live with children. Whether you are a parent, coach, teacher, guardian, or whatever else you may be, take a stand and promote physical activity. By doing so, you will help the future of humanity live a healthy and happy life!

I hope you all had a great holiday and Happy (soon to be) New Year!
​Chris Fluck

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