Blog
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Obesity, Kids, and Camp MakeBelieve | 12/07/11 15:58
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In the U.S. 20% of children are obese. Billions of dollars have gone
into studying why kids are obese, and, now we, as a nation, have
discovered; food is over-processed, not enough fruits and vegetables,
drinking our calories, poor choices, lack of nutritional education,
physical education removed from schools, school lunch rooms serve
horrible foods, the fat gene, too much television and more.
Currently the push in the U.S. is to identify the kids who are obese by
the school nurse or counselor, send a note home to the parents and get
the kid on a diet. The government, taking a reactive rather than a
pro-active approach, is putting the pressure on insurance companies to
pay for children to visit with a pediatric cardiologist, (to asses the
risk factors like high cholesterol and high blood pressure) a
nutritional counselor (educates on fat grams, calories, food portions,
ethnic cooking) and exercise trainer. All vastly important and a step
in the right direction. However, even with all the support systems in
place, children, teens and adults--all of us-- are getting fatter.
At Camp MakeBelieve Kids, we believe that teaching children social and
emotional learning skills is a necessary component for a comprehensive
obesity prevention program. Consider the social and emotional influences
that keep children and teenagers stuck in negative habits and how easy
it is to give up. Think of all the feelings that food conjures up;
satisfaction, guilt, remorse, anger, confidence, embarrassment or even
power. Feeding someone can be a way to demonstrate love, caring,
nurturing. It can also be used to bribe, manipulate or to show who has
control. Children discover very early on that what they decide to eat
(or not eat) gets them lots of attention, and sometimes lots of control.
Read more about how Camp MakeBelieve Kids can aid in obesity prevention here.
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"I like how we talk about how we feel. I like how we make things and draw our feelings on paper. It is a fun time!"Blayne, 9-year-old Camp MakeBelieve Student |
