Did you know that January is National Family Fit Lifestyle Month? The idea behind the creation of this month is to get the ENTIRE family moving!
With an increase in childhood obesity rates over the past thirty years (1), this is a month that definitely needs to be recognized. According to Physical Health & Education Canada 25% of Canadians aged 2-17 years are either overweight or obese (2). In the United States, the CDC estimates that 17% of children and adolescents between the ages of 2-17 (~12.7 million)(3) are obese. WHAT!!!!!!
When I hear and read these numbers, my heart just breaks. Growing up I struggled with my weight and I know how having a weight problem affected me on several levels. Now that I have embarked on this healthy lifestyle and learning more and more about the human body, I now have a better understanding of the impact that obesity has especially on children.
Stewart Kennedy an Ontario Physician has stated “we are raising the first generation of children that will not outlive their parents if current obesity trends and rates continue” (4). To me, that just doesn’t seem right, so I felt it was only right that a month like National Family Fit Lifestyle be featured and highlighted as we welcome the first month of a new year. This is the time of year when people make resolutions, commitments, and promises whatever you chose to call them, so why not make one for you and your family? And, when I say the word family it doesn’t have to apply only to our “static definition of a family,- mom, dad two kids, white picket fence…NO!”. I don’t have any children but I do have a niece, brothers, sister, mom, dad, cousins, aunts and uncles, friends, etc and I considered them all a part of my family.
So, how or what will you do to celebrate Family Fit Lifestyle this month and every month?
Best in Health!
- Childhood Obesity Foundation (http://www.childhoodobesityfoundation.ca/statistics)
- Physical & Health Education Canada (http://www.phecanada.ca/obesity)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
- Ontario Medical Association (https://www.oma.org/Mediaroom/PressReleases/Pages/ItsTimeToStartTakingObesitySeriouslyOntario’Doctors.aspx)
