Grammar Nazi note: Really, a typo in the headline? Do I really have to go on this tirade?
The British government launched a new campaign on Monday aimed against obesity, saying that children under the age of 5, including those who cannot walk yet, should exercise.
First of all, it does sort of go without saying that children who are unable to walk, are under 5.
Second of all, yeah, make sure you plan exercise with your three-week-old. I mean, really? I mean, I understand the sentiment here, but, really, you know there’s some idiot out there who is going to throw a sweatband and a mini-Flashdance-style sweatshirt on their child and abuse that poor kid, and then claim the British government told them they were supposed to do it.
The health department said, in the first guidelines issued for children that young, that children under 5 who can walk should engage in some kind of physical activity for at least three hours spaced throughout the day. Parents are urged to limit the amount of time young children spend indoors or strapped into strollers.
Back the train up, didn’t they just say in the lead that this included children who weren’t able to walk yet? What’s up with the change in mentality in just a couple paragraphs? No wonder we wanted to be free of your tyranny 200+ years ago.
Officials said that young children's daily exercise needs can be met by simply walking to school and during playtime and play dates. Additionally, parents should start getting babies active at birth, allowing them to play on their stomach or enjoying swimming sessions with their parents.
We do allow them to play on their stomachs, it’s called “tummy time” and most newborns HATE it. As far as the obesity argument is concerned, it was so much easier to make sure my kid ate healthy later on then force tummy time when she screamed her little head off.
If their daily exercise needs can be met by simply walking to school and playtime, then why are we even being given these guidelines? (I mean guildlines, my bad.) Seems to me the logic in that argument isn’t working. Yeah, you need to make sure they get plenty of exercise, but that’s probably being met by daily activities, so no worries.
Currently, nearly a quarter of British are obese. By 2050, experts estimate that about 90 percent of adults in Britain will be heavy.
Wow, that’s a statistic I’ve never read before. But hey, you know they say 78 percent of statistics are made up on the spot. Maybe they’d do better at thwarting obesity by banning the sale of couches as opposed to setting out stupid guildlines.
According to a 2008 health survey, only about 5 percent of Britons meet the government's minimal activity standards of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a week.
I know I don’t need to point this out, but a 2008 survey is sooooo three years ago. I’m sure one has been done since then. Come on, reporter boy, let’s do some research.
So, someone please tell me why children under the age of 5 are supposed to have three HOURS of exercise a day but the guildline for adults is a mere 2.5 hours A WEEK?
The new British campaign is ambitious. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children and teenagers get one hour or more of physical activity a day.
The U.S., land of the fat-asses (including mine, thankyouverymuch), doesn’t recommend as much physical activity a day. I’m shocked.
Now ... just to throw this out there, in doing a web search for images to accompany this, I stumbled across the Baby Bariatrics website. This is, quite frankly, the most "what the fuck were they thinking" thing I have ever seen. You think I'm kidding don't you? I can't make this up.
No comments:
Post a Comment