1. 020 METRO 08.12 021METROMAG.COM
THE KIDS ARE NOT ALL RIGHTOBESITY ISN’T THE ONLY NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECT OF CHILDREN’S SEDENTARY
LIVES. IN FACT, IT MAY NOT EVEN BE THE MOST HARMFUL.
By David Doody
CHILDHOOD OBESITY
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mncnc.org
sajaifoundation.org
The generation of American kids currently under age 25 is
the first expected to have shorter lives than their parents.
That’s a step in the wrong direction if ever there was
one. This projection largely centers around the diets and
lifestyles of young people. In short: too many dinners from
drive-thrus and too many hours with backsides planted
firmly in comfy couches—tablet, remote control or game
controller in hand.
The issue has caught the attention of the likes of First Lady
Michelle Obama, who has proclaimed herself “First Mom”
and has set her sights on conquering childhood obesity.
Celebrity chefs like Tom Colicchio and Maria Hines have
spoken out about the need to address the crisis. But what
is often lost in the discussion surrounding children’s need to
eat veggies and move around is the fact that humans—and
possibly kids in particular—are hardwired to do that moving
in green spaces.
“[Kids are] not getting the outdoor time [older generations]
did,” explains Dr. Catherine Jordan, director of the University
of Minnesota Extension’s Children, Youth and Family
Consortium and former co-chair for the Minnesota Children
and Nature Connection (MN CNC). “There’s, of course, a
huge obesity epidemic in our country with children, and
there is research that suggests that when kids spend time
in physical activity outdoors, they are actually doing more
strenuous physical activities [for longer periods of time]
than if they were physically active indoors.”
The MN CNC is based on the national Children and Nature
Network, which was started by journalist Richard Louv on
the heels of his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods, where
he coined the term Nature Deficit Disorder to describe the
trend he saw of young people spending less time in nature.
Many factors contribute to this deficit, including increased
entertainment options for children (we’re looking at you,
500,000 apps in iTunes), parents’ safety concerns and time
constraints, a greater number of structured activities for
kids and simply less green space in urban areas. Along with
contributing to weight issues in children, in the book Louv
claims NDD also leads to behavioral issues and cognitive
deficiencies.
“[We] think time spent outdoors in nature contributes to
better attention and skill development around cognitive
development, and more social-emotional [aspects]
having to do with confidence,” says Jordan. “All of those
developmental outcomes eventually tie back to the
likelihood that kids will be successful in school and in life
… We do think there are benefits to outdoor play that we
haven’t figured out how to replace with the kind of school
curriculum that we have been moving toward, which is
much more structured and test-oriented.”
“It’s something many people just turn their heads to and say,
‘It’s not my child,’” says Melissa Hanson, CEO and president
of the Sajai Foundation, a non-profit organization that works
with local communities to implement programs meant to
encourage children to spend more time outdoors and to eat
healthier (see next article). “And yet, we look at this massive
group of kids coming into adulthood with so many issues far
earlier than [previous generations] … It is everybody’s issue,
and we all need to work together to be role models for kids
and to educate them on healthy choices. If we don’t, the
issue [will become] this giant tsunami wave … [of] escalating
health care costs and things we think wouldn’t be related,
but very much are.” As an example Hanson points to a
report from a group called Mission: Readiness titled “Too
Fat to Fight” that claims many potential military recruits
are too heavy to join the armed forces, therefore creating a
national security issue.
In comparison to the rest of the country, Minnesota’s
kids are in relatively good shape, according to Hanson.
Whereas the national average sees around one-third of kids
considered overweight or obese, Minnesota boasts about
10 percent fewer children in those categories. “The flip side
is there’s still 23.1 percent of kids [who are overweight or
obese],” Hanson says. “So, I don’t know if that [constitutes]
bragging rights or not—[the epidemic] is here; it is very
prevalent.”
Another issue almost always neglected when discussing
the effects of children’s sedentary lives is the negative
impact those lifestyles have on the environment. Not only
are children missing out on all the benefits—cognitive and
physical—that a connection to nature can offer, but they
are not developing the affiliation with the environment that
leads to stewardship.
“If we have no experience with something, we can’t come
to appreciate it, and we’re not likely to take care of it in the
future,” explains Jordan. “There is research [that shows] kids
with outdoor experiences that stick with them are better
stewards of the earth … It’s really hard to imagine kids who
have had no experience with nature understanding the need
to do this, because it hasn’t made a major difference in
their lives.”
Hanson, who was also a member of the group that founded
the MN CNC, agrees: “It really does have a long-term impact
on the future of our environment, because if we aren’t
building stewards for the future, we won’t have anyone who
cares about and actively engages in protecting our natural
states, places and resources.”
As children become increasingly idle, more is at risk than
meets the eye. Sure, we see a quite literally ever-expanding
population, but what we don’t see—the impediments to
learning, the disregard for nature—may be where the most
harm lies. So, how do we right the ship?
Obviously there’s no simple answer, but Jordan likes to
appeal to people’s sense of nostalgia for results. “If people
need research-based information to understand the
importance of this, there is a body of work behind it,” she
says. “[But] most people, I think, resonate with the more
nostalgic [approach]. Whenever I present on this [topic], my
very first question to get to know the audience is, ‘Think
about a memory from childhood.’ And then: ‘Raise your
hand if that memory was an outdoor memory.’ If it’s adults
over 30, the majority of the room will raise their hands.
If you explain to them that our children are less likely to
raise their hands to that question when they get older, it
sort of pulls at people’s heartstrings a little bit; they realize
how important those experiences were and what great
memories they [have]. They feel a sense of loss for the next
generation, who [won’t] be able to say that.” +
NEW HABITSTHE SAJAI FOUNDATION LOOKS TO GIVE
TEACHERS AND OTHERS WORKING WITH KIDS
THE TOOLS TO PROMOTE HEALTHY LIVING.
By David Doody
In 2002 Melissa Hanson went to healthy-living advocate
Barb King and told her, “Barb, the next big thing that’s
going to affect kids is childhood obesity.” The problem
was already present, Hanson admits, but she saw it
“bubbling to the surface” in years to come. From that
conversation, King went on to start the Säjai Foundation,
a non-profit that encourages healthy lifestyles through
eating right and playing and exercising more outdoors.
Though King died in 2008, Hanson, as the CEO and
president of the organization, carries on the work
started with that conversation.
Through its Wise Kids programs, Säjai offers curricula
to organizations already working with kids—schools,
the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs—that focus on nutrition
and activity. In Wise Kids and Wise Kids Two, students
explore the Energy Balance concept (Calories IN =
Calories OUT) to specifically address the childhood
obesity crisis, while Wise Kids Outdoors focuses more
on time spent outdoors and how the environment, like
the human body, must have balance. The latter also
addresses the issues of Nature Deficit Disorder (see
previous article).
“We give tools to those already working with kids so
that they can become effective teachers and [offer]
engagement opportunities for kids to learn about
healthy living,” Hanson says. “We want to reach the
kids first and foremost, because we know, much like
seatbelts and recycling, systematic changes are going
to come by having those kids pull their parents and the
rest of us along, in terms of forming new habits.”
On September 29 Säjai is hosting its Amazing Walk!
at North Mississippi Regional Park, a 5K event with
“challenge stations” along the way meant to teach about
the organization and the outdoors though activities like
geocaching, parkour and rock-climbing.
Volunteers are needed for this event as well as others
in which Säjai takes part, like the Twin Cities Marathon
and National Get Outdoors Day. For more information,
visit sajaifoundation.org. +
NOT ONLY ARE CHILDREN MISSING OUT ON ALL
THE BENEFITS—COGNITIVE AND PHYSICAL—THAT A
CONNECTION TO NATURE CAN OFFER, BUT THEY
ARE NOT DEVELOPING THE AFFILIATION WITH THE
ENVIRONMENT THAT LEADS TO STEWARDSHIP.
OBESITY FACTS
OVERWEIGHT
ADOLESCENTS
WILL LIKELY
BECOME
OVERWEIGHT
ADULTS
OUTDOOR RECREATION
36%
OF 6-12
YEAR OLDS
PARTICIPATE
30%
OF13-17
YEAR OLDS
PARTICIPATE
1 IN 6
CHILDREN
AGES 2-19
IS OBESE
YOUNGER CHILDREN WHO DON’T
GET ENOUGH SLEEP ARE MORE
LIKELY TO BECOME OVERWEIGHT.
SLEEP
STUDENTS WITH HIGH PARTICIPA-
TION IN SCHOOL-BASED PHYSI-
CAL ACTIVITIES WERE MORE
LIKELY TO EARN HIGHER GRADES.
23.1%
KIDS IN MN
ARE OBESE
OR
OVERWEIGHT
NATIONAL
AVERAGE = 33%
MORE THAN
8 IN 10
PRINCIPALS
REPORT THAT
RECESS HAS A
POSITIVE IMPACT
ON ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT
LINEAR TIME TRENDS
PREDICT THAT BY 2030,
51%
OF AMERICANS WILL
BE OBESE.
40%DISTRICTS
HAVE ELIMINATED
(OR ARE WORKING TO ELIMINATE)
RECESS
OF SCHOOL
LIFE WITHOUT THE OUTDOORS
OF ANXIETY
DISORDERS
HIGHER RATE
44%