A 1980s Solution to Childhood Obesity

Back in the 1980s, when I was a kid, me and the other kids in the neighborhood used to spend hours on the street beside my house playing road hockey.

During the week, we would get home from school, do our homework and then race outside and play until someone’s Mom started freaking out about getting ready for bed. On weekends, we would be running up and down that street for as long as we could see that crappy old tennis ball.

And while none of us made it to the NHL, none of us looked like this either…

And according to a new study, it looks like us sweaty little pre-teens had inadvertently discovered the cure for childhood obesity.

Following up on our research, British scientists have found that “boys and girls who take part in physical activity with their best friends in the neighbourhood where they live have higher levels of physical activity”.

And while the occasional game of tag isn’t going to make up for a diet loaded with pizza & pop, the countless hours we spent running around like a bunch of goofballs sure as heck did.

And it wasn’t just the time we spent exercising.

• It was the time we didn’t spend watching tv, playing video games and eating junk food.

And today’s science backs that up.

“This research proves the strength of buddy power — simply exercising with a best friend or having a friend who is a good exercise role model increases the chance of a child keeping fit and active. We know that kids who exercise during childhood are more likely to continue these good habits as they grow up — reducing their risk of heart and circulatory disease”.

“We are currently faced with a generation of kids whose waistlines are expanding. This research shows that easy initiatives like encouraging your child to run around with their best friend could have a big impact on their health.”

And we’re not talking about organized sports.

We’re talking about a bunch of kids running around being goofballs…like kids are supposed to.

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Reference

• Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
• Science Daily

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3. A Spark of Hope in the Fight against Childhood Obesity
4. Childhood Obesity: A Cruel Kindness
5. Sesame Street v.s. Childhood Obesity