Letting children play

Hillary Burdette and Robert Whitaker have an article in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine about "Resurrecting Free Play in Young Children." The summary from Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., says:

The current emphasis on increasing physical activity in young children has arisen in response to the childhood obesity epidemic. The authors suggest that efforts to increase physical activity in young children might be more successful if we emphasize other outcomes, besides obesity, and use different language. Specifically, they suggest using the word “play” rather than “physical activity” or “exercise,” and emphasizing the benefits of play for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. Play is about more than improving fitness and reducing fatness.

The same thing could be said about children and eating. Food, too, is about more than improving fitness and reducing fatness.