I have my Google Alerts set on many topics. Education, physical fitness, physical education, fitness business, but obviously one is set on fat and obesity. I get a daily alert with between 20 -30 articles from across the internet that speak to ‘fat’ as a topic. It’s a topic that’s not going away anytime soon. Over the past several months at least one article a day read like a campaign speech. It made me physically sick on more than one occasion. It has become a practice on insanity to read this rhetoric.
Imaginary Enemies
Lawmakers in many states believe it is a good idea to ban soft drinks and junk food in schools. They are creating an enemy where no enemy can be found. It is very reminiscent to lying in the face of the American public about weapons of mass destruction. These lawmakers are creating their own cold war against an enemy that does not exist and I’m getting pretty tired of the bullshit.
Instead of spending money and time on imaginary enemies, why aren’t these same lawmakers taking that money and making it mandatory for schools to include physical education in their curriculum? The real enemy is “lack of movement” not products. The more you move the less fat you will become from ingesting products filled with “high fructose corn syrup” and the myriad of sugar substitutes.
It’s Not My Fault
Creating “make believe enemies” does not help in the de-fattening of America. Instead, it only disguises another excuse, “It’s not my fault; it’s those damn soft drink companies. They shouldn’t be allowed to make their stuff taste so good”. My question is why not? We live in a capitalist society where people have a choice to both buy and consume products or not. We are blaming advertisers for doing what they’re supposed to do. They make it possible for you to buy their product. It is our job to use our intelligence and weed through the hype, maybe read a label or two. Then make a choice to either consume the product or not. We cannot blame companies for making products. For decades, as a society, we’ve known that junk food and sugary soft drinks are not a good thing, but people still buy and stuff their faces with it.
Prohibition Makes It More Appealing
If we have learned anything from history it is Americans will want what they can’t have, think Prohibition. Banning soft drinks in schools and public places will not do one thing to curb fatness or obesity. It will actually encourage these impressionable children and young adults to go after these products with fervor. The more attention that is brought to this subject the more the under belly will grow. Let’s get congressional hearings about that lack of physical education in schools and what that is doing to America instead of concerning our congress with steroid use in Major League Baseball. Why is there no cry for the heads of “Board of Education Superintendents” for cutting physical fitness and fitness related extracurricular activities? Where is the President when we need exercise in our schools not the creation of campaigns against “soft drinks of mass destruction”?
It’s Time for Physical Education
Let’s create task forces that establish physical education curriculum for schools and if there is no money for teachers to do it than why can’t parents volunteer their time to run Boot Camp exercise classes for students. One, two, ten parents from each school district could easily provide enough movement to burn fat and decrease the fat and obesity rate in half within the next year. You read that correctly…within the next year. We can win this war. It just takes small groups of us that give a shit about our young people to take the time and encourage physical fitness.