Fighting Childhood Obesity

Part of the reason that childhood obesity is on the rise in America is that children are not getting enough daily physical play. It is also true that many children today spend a lot of time in some sort of childcare or school setting making us an important tool to help fight childhood obesity. As teachers we “encourage the development of various skills and behaviors by being role models and by providing motivation for children to succeed.” (Berns, 2013, p.19) In order to help children become more active we have to provide them with activities that promote physical activity. By also participating in physical activities and keeping children active we are helping to fight this epidemic by being role models for children. Within the classroom
You can use animals as a theme where you can include movement. Make sure that the space is large enough so that children have enough room to move freely. As you introduce various animals to the children, encourage them to move as if they were that animal. For instance, to represent a cheetah, ask children to run in place allowing children to go as fast as they can individually. For a bird, each child can flap their wings (arms) going as fast as they can or are willing to go. Repeat actions of different animals and also allow children to choose animal movements of their own so they can all be successful in this activity. Do not forget to also participate in the movement activities with the children.
Another cause of childhood obesity is that children are not eating foods that provide the adequate nutrients that they need to be healthy. Today portion sizes are becoming larger and children are eating more and more unhealthy foods. It is important that we offer portion sizes adequate for the child’s age as well as providing them meals with items that are nutritious. What children drink is also a factor that contributes to childhood obesity, therefore, we should try to limit children’s options to reduced fat milk and water. It is also important that we include lessons about foods into our
Chicago run offers different fit kits for the use of classrooms, students, and families. There is a printout of daily activities that you can use for each child that has a different goal, for every day, for ten days. You can also use the workout videos available on the website as a fitness activity lesson at any time of the day. If families have access to the internet you can provide the website information to them so that they are able to do the same at home, and you can also provide printouts to families that do not have access to the internet. Chicago Run