Hopes for a Healthier Future

A Healthier Future

The problem I chose to address for this project is childhood obesity. More and more children are becoming obese because of the lack of healthy food in their homes and schools. According the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, “Nearly 1 in 3 children (ages 2-19) in the United States is overweight or obese, putting them at risk for serious health problems.” As adults, we rely too much on the technology in the world to occupy our children. They have become completely consumed by it and have lost their will to play. We are responsible for the future of our children, and we are failing them.

Contrary to our belief, obesity and being overweight are not the same thing. Obesity means that a child’s body mass index is in the 95th percentile or greater. Being overweight means that they are above the weight that is considered “normal and healthy” for their age. An overweight child is more likely to be overweight or obese as an adult. We need to make a change in our kids now before it’s too late.

Living in the South is an incredible thing. People are super nice and the food is amazing.  Mississippi is known for a multitude of things. It’s the only state that has milk as their state drink. It has been the home to multiple famous people such as Elvis Presley and Oprah Winfrey. What Mississippi does not like to be known for is that we have the second highest childhood obesity rate in the United States. “Nearly 40% of children in Mississippi are overweight or obese.” We don’t push our kids to make healthy choices. We give them their video games and phones so they won’t bother us anymore. We live in such a fast paced world that we find it easier to run through the McDonalds drive through instead of cooking a healthy meal for our families. That’s absolutely shameful. Our children deserve a better future!

Mississippi has the 2nd highest obesity rate in children and the 3rd highest obesity rate in adults in the country. It is absolutely horrifying that we have let this happen! How do we fix it you ask? We start changing the mindsets of our children. I believe the first place we need to start is our school systems. This is this place where our children spend most of their time. There are programs that have been created to help schools provide healthier meals and implement physical activities in order to instill a better outlook on health.

The Give a School a K.I.S.S. (kids in super shape) Campaign is a program that encourages children to play. Its free and available to all schools, parks, and homes that are interested. This program believes that a child’s ability to play is their greatest asset when it comes to staying healthy. According to kidsinsupershape.org, “In an effort to get our kids moving again, we provide students with many opportunities to stay fit each week. K.I.S.S. Club implements creative approaches to eating right and exercising through organized fitness and nutrition challenges, specialized nutrition classes, fitness competitions and much more.” 

The Let’s Move! campaign was implemented by the First Lady, Michelle Obama. According to letsmove.gov, ‘The Task Force recommendations focus on the five pillars of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative:

1. Creating a healthy start for children
2. Empowering parents and caregivers
3. Providing healthy food in schools
4. Improving access to healthy, affordable foods
5. Increasing physical activity”

Not only is the Let’s Move! campaign focused on getting children to be more active but also the eat better. The campaign wants to make sure that kids have healthier school lunches and their families have access to affordable, healthy food.

I believe one of the main reasons Mississippi has such a problem with childhood obesity is that we are so uneducated about the options we have to better their health. There are so many programs out there that offer options for healthier school lunches and exercise programs for kids but we just don’t know about them.