As the mother of 3 sons, I hate to hear them complain there is nothing to do. I have seen the truth in that statement as they have been publicly reprimanded for their actions. This potential for childhood obesity concerns me as their mother and a nurse.
Unbelievably, my youngest son was scolded for riding his bike in the park.
My oldest son had his skateboard confiscated by the local police for merely having it in his possession. He represents 12.3 million skateboarders in the United States who deserve a place to skateboard without causing a problem for local business owners and pedestrians. Skateboarding is illegal in my county and skateboarders face fines or loss of their skate board for riding skateboards in public. There is no public transportation, leaving many skateboarders unable to afford traveling the 40 miles to the nearest skate park. Parks in the same town are “Passive Parks” which mean active sports may not be played there. Active Sports include but are not limited to: Football, Frisbee (Ultimate or otherwise), Baseball, Basketball, and Golf. A toddler was reprimanded by the police for playing with a ball in this park.
Skateboarding burns over 430 calories an hour; bicycling leisurely burns over 200 calories per hour.
Why in this day and age when obesity is so prevalent would communities support passive parks?
In Katie’s Corner, occupational therapist, Tobi Barnett has a feature on Skill Building in the Outdoors. This is a timely topic, in keeping with First Lady Michelle Obama’s goal to end child obesity in a generation.
The CDC reports childhood and adolescent obesity is a serious health concern which increases risk for cardiovascular disease (such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes) and with an increased risk to become obese adults.
This month in Nurses4Nurses you’ll learn about Roslyn Pruitt, one of the nurses from Nursing in the Storm who needed to draw on tremendous physical reserves after Hurricane Katrina. The average nurse is over 40 years old. My personal observation is that we tend to be codependent and not take care of ourselves. Roslyn has committed to being in shape to face the next disaster. She is running 4 miles a day and goes to the gym regularly.
As nurses we can model healthy behaviors and motivate others to adopt a healthy lifestyle. What are you doing to promote a healthy lifestyle for yourself or others?
