A report from the organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, just released Health Data from the 2010 report which, shows obesity levels as:
24.8% Australia (2007)
33.8% United States (2008)
24.5% United Kingdom (2008)
We are now more at risk of many obesity and health related issues like heart disease and diabetes than ever before. Not a very good endorsement for our nation which promotes so much sporting prowess.
In the last 30 years the weight of an average 8 year old child has nearly doubled to what is was previously. Due to new and improved technology, the children of the future are not do enough physical activity to balance out what they are eating If you think of when our parents and grandparents were younger a television was very much a luxury item and in some cases not even invented. No one had heard of a phone that had no cord, and well no one had even heard about what a computer was let alone things like Facebook, twitter, instergram and games you could play online. So come to think about it there was little or no television, no computers with games, no Ipads, xbox’s laptops, or ipods So what was there to do during the week? Some of you may say homework and I couldn’t agree more with you but my point being is that kids used to always be outside playing sport or running around inventing games, there wasn’t nearly the amount of people being told they are obese as there are today.
Technology has now in fact failed us in a physical sense. Well I believe that compulsory sport classes in schools are the answer. Sport is very much part of the Australian way of life these days. Whether it is a daily walk in the park with your MP3 player, a game of cricket on the beach at Christmas with family, playing a game of netball, or doing sport at school, sport is a vital cog in helping us maintain a happy, healthy and successful society.
Sport at school would be a contributing factor in helping eliminate the problem of obesity in schools. Not only is it a fun way of meeting friends it can also teach skills vitally important to a child’s development such as ball skills, hand-eye coordination, and personal development skills. It also offers children to gain a wider understanding of how a game works, positions on the field of play, and the value of good sportsmanship and fair play on the field.
Sport is such a daily necessity in our lives it is so hard to think what life would be like without it. Many people may say things like “its too hot” or “its so boring.” Well hello wake up Australia do something while you still can. I can not think of one reason why we shouldn’t have compulsory sport in schools.
If we didn’t can you imagine what would happen? Many kids would not play sport; they have no motivation to do sport. Just think to yourself if you were in this boat….Chat on MSN, play some sport. This is the same as saying, give my fingers a bit of exercise, or give my whole body a bit of exercise, we need sport in schools to keep everyone healthy no matter if they do sport outside of school or not.
http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/australia-pips-us-as-worlds-fattest-nation-20090407-9xne.html
