As Fat as Texas

Over the last two months of trying to lose weight and get fit, I've been doing a lot of thinking about my little girl, Sydney. She is so perfect and (thank God) healthy, and I want to make sure that I provide her with a good example of a healthy, active lifestyle. A recent report has me thinking that this is more important than ever.

A group called Trust for America's Health at HealthyAmericans.org recently published this report, tracking the weight statistics of residents of each of the 50 states. They found that Texas ranked 14th for the highest percentage of obese adults (27.9%) and, more tragically, 20th for the highest percentage of overweight or obese children (32.2%).

I don't know what's more horrifying here, that nearly one in three of our kids is overweight to obese, or that that statistic still puts us ahead of thirty other states! The kids tested for this study were aged 10 to 17. In my mind, this is the time in a child's life that they are establishing the habits and behaviors that will follow them most of their lives. Keeping in mind that poor diet and physical inactivity are one of the leading causes of preventable death in America (right behind smoking), we're killing our kids.

To be clear, I don't blame video games, the Internet or "the rap music," for this problem. I blame...us, parents. It's our job to make sure that our kids are being active and eating well. Lord knows, my mom had to use the jaws of life to get me to eat my vegetables, but she did it (most of the time). I wasn't on my knees begging my parents to sign me up for little league, but they did. Way more importantly than that, my parents did a great job of modelling healthy decision making. I can remember my dad jogging at night and promising that I could join him once I was able to run in place for an hour (two episodes of The Cosby Show). Likewise, I have fond memories of my sisters and I Sweatin' to the Oldies alongside my mom (Trust me, it was cool at the time.).

That's the dad I want to be to Sydney, one who doesn't just push her to be healthy, but makes her want to be healthy. I don't know what I can do about the other two out of three Texas kids, but I'm going to make sure she's one of the healthy ones.

I'm proud to say that Temple Parks & Leisure Services has made keeping Temple kids healthy a major priority. The Department offers regular programs to keep kids of all ages active and healthy. Moreover, as part of its expansion, the Summit Family Fitness Center has added a state-of-the-art youth fitness room. I've gotten to go in there a few times, and I have to say, it's pretty awesome. There are stationary bikes that let the kids race with eachother over a connect network, a huge video game dancing program, and an activity wall that challenges kids to hit or throw things at targets as they light up. All of these neat toys combine for a great workout that most kids won't even realize they're getting.