An article in the Colorodoan rightly warns that we should never stress young kids out with weight loss dieting.
But the headline -- Too Young to Diet? Some Say Fight Against Childhood Obesity Has Backfired -- gets the story wrong.
Let kids be kids! The best way to teach healthy eating and physical activity for a lifetime is to provide a nurturing environment with healthy food choices, plenty of time for outdoor play, and some degree of shelter from an onslaught of television, sedentary distractions, and unhealthy food and soda marketing.
That's the real fight against childhood obesity, and it certainly hasn't backfired.
Oh, I couldn't have said that better myself! I'm not contending that we don't have to be more careful about what we feed children, but there's been much more attention paid to "energy in" (calories consumed) than to "energy out" (calories burned). There have been a number of studies, both here and abroad, showing that the increase in childhood overweight is not due to increased caloric intake but rather to a decrease in energy output. If we let kids be kids -- to actively play -- we'd make significant strides toward addressing the problem.
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