I just read an article in the Friday, September 24, 2010 USA Today and it surprised me. The title of the article was Study:USA is fattest among advanced countries. It states in the article that "2/3s of people in this country are overweight or obese". The thing that surprised me is that we are still seeing articles like this in the news. How much longer will we be exposed to these type of articles? I just don't think it is news anymore. And I also don't think most Americans really care.
When I go and visit my in-laws, I take some walks through some sub-divisions. Houses are squished onto 1/8 or 1/4 acre lots. That is fine as I understand the need to do this for a variety of reasons. I'm amazed, though, that there is no open space for a good kickball game or capture the flag. If you link up a couple of backyards, you might have an area of some size but invariably someone puts a fence up and space becomes segmented.
It is almost like we, as a society, are intentionally trying to limit healthy lifestyles for our kids. Let's look at a local case.
The Community Pool at Mill Hall is in bad shape and badly needs renovated. The volunteer group, Friends of the Community Pool at Mill Hall, run the 39-year-old facility and have been raising money toward the local match in order to get the needed repairs. The volunteer group states they have funding and the money to get it done. Borough officials just don't seem interested in working with the volunteer group to get it done. You can follow some of the news article in the Lock Haven Express here and here.
Does the Lock Haven area want to have a venue that kids can go to during the summer? A place where they can have fun and get some physical activity in? Or is the community going to limit swimming to those who can afford a pool in the back yard while the rest of you can go find a river or creek.
It is do or die for the Community Pool at the Borough Meeting on Tuesday 09/28/10 at 7:30 PM. If you think the pool is important for youth in the area, then show up and convince Mill Hall Borough this needs to be SAVED!!!
Honestly, it doesn't surprise me at all that we are becoming a fat nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment