With childhood obesity prevalent in North America, it’s no wonder people are taking action against it.
Recently, gyms have sprouted in the U.S. and Canada whose primary clientele is children.
The Action Kids Fitness Centers, located in California, provide circuit training and cardio kickboxing for children upwards of four years old at adult prices. Gym Kids Canada sells personal exercise equipment for children as young as three years old.
When companies try to cash in on the latest pop culture craze and turn problems from high-sugar packaged foods, videogames and blasé parenting into commercial enterprise, it makes you wonder where our society
is headed.
The commodification of exercise is prevalent, but the new focus on children leaves me wondering why we would impose body image issues on people so young.
Using dumbbells and stationary bikes hardly seems like the solution to the obesity epidemic in North America; rather, it instills an unhealthy attitude towards activity
and exercise.
I find gyms problematic because of their emphasis on numeric value as opposed to general health. But if it takes numbers to motivate people—and it must, judging by the annual New Year’s resolution parade through the PEC—then I suppose Action Kids has hit the proverbial nail on the head.
If a child’s earliest active memory is lifting dumbbells and running circuits I think our society has problems equivalent to the magnitude of obesity.
I don’t dispute that some children might enjoy the gym environment, but we are a culture of extremes, not moderation.
The solution to obesity is not throwing kids into gyms, but attributing a healthy lifestyle to healthy eating and activity that you enjoy.
I thought my generation was computer savvy, but children are now using technology at earlier ages.
What ever happened to playing outside all day?
When I was younger, my summer days consisted of riding bicycles, rollerblading and road hockey.
Now if we could only tear kids away from the TV long enough to show them there’s a world outside the realm of video games.
If kids played outside more often, obesity and the need for six year olds to be on a treadmill would disappear.
Although the Wii seems to be a healthier alternative to traditional video games, the most popular games for children are still sedentary. What’s going to happen to the next generation when their sense of adventure is limited to on-screen endeavors and ellipticals?
Maybe I’m a bit idealistic because I was lucky enough to live in a safe neighbourhood where I could play outdoors, but our culture of quantitative results needs to
stop somewhere.
Let’s send kids outdoors to hearten their immune systems and put a book in their hands while we’re at it.
Hey, we can dream, can’t we?
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