Youth Obesity - How Can We Make a Difference

Our youth are growing at an amazing rate, and it isn't in the good way. They are getting heavier and heavier every day with no end in site. While many believe that kids and parents are just getting lazier, I believe there is much more to this issue.

Often, we as adults get frustrated and feel as if there is no solution for our kids being overweight except for forcing activity upon them until they finally give in. Unfortunately this is the wrong approach and could quite possibly end up being the one thing that pushes youth away from physical activity. Youth must see the value in it, and by value, I'm referring to fun. It must be fun for them, but it also must be effective toward an end result. The more we make it look like work or something they have to do, the more likely they will be to turn away and give it the cold shoulder.

If you are a coach of a youth sports team, your role doesn't change from the points I made above. Many youth will be there because they want to be, but others will be there more for the social component and may not even like the sport. Your job then is to make it fun for everyone first. Running kids into the ground and yelling at them to the point of tears is no way to coach youth and I quite frankly find it disgusting (speaking about actual events I have witnessed just recently). What are the chances this child will continue to participate in this sport when they get older?

The truth is most youth don't even know how to move, let alone play a sport flawlessly. If youth don't know how to move, how can we coach a sport that involves movement? In essence we are putting the horse before the carriage believing that sport conditioning is way more important than learning how to perform the move correctly by knowing how our bodies move.

As adults we need to understand two things: first is youth learn what they see. So leading by example is vital for our youth to understand that their health can not be ignored. An active lifestyle can be fun and not hard work. Develop a lifestyle of active activities and get youth involved when preparing healthy meals.

The second thing is we can't expect youth to be excited about the same things you are. That means when it comes to exercise, going out for a run or a long swim isn't something they will find fun. There are countless other activities that will serve youth better that they will enjoy and will choose to continue these activities in the future.

Our youth fit camps in February address the needs of youth with their movement to boost confidence but also a conditioning component they so desperately need to become more active.