I explained in the three earlier articles some of the causes of the unfortunate explosion of obesity in our country and in the US. We all know that the recent change of diet through the manipulation of the giant food industry and their massive marketing ploys are the main triggers to weight gain, obesity and disease in children and adults. Unfortunately, government health agencies are not making any attempts to counteract these invasive campaigns or address the issue in order to resolve the consequential health problems. Special interest groups are trying to protect the industry and there is no effort done to oppose them. Children and unaware adults are easy preys of the food and tobacco industries. Sadly enough the public is not informed sufficiently on the “harmful” effects of the modern diet. People just enjoy its convenience and availability.
We, as parents, are not proactive enough to make the voices of protest heard on the prevalence of the seemingly “innocuous foods,” which conceal a myriad of toxic artificial additives (preservatives, taste-enhancers, flavors, colorings) and loads of “harmful” fats, sodium, “injurious” sugar and its destructive substitutes.
Manufactured and processed foods are carefully engineered by highly qualified and seasoned scientists and psychologists who study the tastes, textures and colors of food and the psychologies and tendencies of innocent children and uninformed adults and target them with “junk” by flooding the markets, with the “silent” approval of government and health agencies. I advise you to read the book, Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser who exposed the fast food and meat industries. You would not put a hamburger in your mouth again unless you accept such “yucky” waste to go into your and your growing children’s guts. This “garbage,” or zibala, predicts and destroys the health of your children.
It is of no wander that E. Coli, Staphylcoccus aureus, Salmonella and Enterococcus bacteria outbreaks in the US happen, caused by eating contaminated hamburgers in fast food eateries, sickening hundreds of people and claiming the lives of innocent children. Moreover, hormones, antibiotics and chemicals given to livestock disrupt their hormonal balance; cause obesity and premature puberty; make the body antibiotic-resistant; and eventually result in heart disease and cancer. I am just giving you the insider scoop on the kind of food your children consume on a daily basis. Do your own research and then you make your choice.
Last time, I addressed sleep loss and irregular bedtime, which are also major factors leading to obesity, slowing down the healing process, altering immunity, inducing lethargy and slowing down the physical and mental responses and learning processes. All of these individually and collectively lead to silent inflammation, imbalances and disease.
Today, I shall explain how lack of exercise and insufficient activity lead to weight gain, child obesity and disease. I shall emphasize the importance of activity to maintain good weight, bolster the immune defenses, give energy, stabilize the mood, enhance memory and sharpness, intensify learning skills and intellect, increase creativity and improve physical and mental responses and performances.
Children in our modern days have become coach potatoes. For hours, they lie on beds or coaches, fixated on video games, televisions, or movies, while munching on their favorite snack (potato or corn chips, chocolate bars) after and before meals, oblivious of the world around them. They have reduced their physical activity to simply moving their fingers on the gadgets or dipping them in potato chip bags. Recent research showed that children are required to move, play, run and exercise at least six hours a day in order to allow for adequate physical and mental growth. Long hours of television watching and video game playing are big deterrents to physical activity, which is a necessity for mental development and physical growth. Televisions and iPads should not replace sports, intellectual games and social interaction.
Physical training and sports boost motivation; develop character, intellect, social skills, restores self-esteem and confidence; stirs curiosity, expands the horizons of children; exposes them to new ideas and people; brings out their creativity and prevents weight gain, laziness and disease. Children’s bodies are no different than adults’ bodies; they also store fat around the waists, especially when physical activity and sports are absent. Young ones need to think, play, move, chase each other and do sports in order to develop physically and mentally.
Exercise is one of the healthiest lifestyles that even if practiced alone, it can be sufficient to keep children and adults quite healthy, energetic and reasonably well as it limits disease by boosting the immune system. Physical activity and muscle building are required even when the person is slim and the body is fat-free. Building muscles and being active a few hours a day give strength, boost mood and energy, strengthen the body and heart muscles, develop good reflexes and coordination, bolster the immune defenses, detoxify the various body systems, burn calories and fat and improve the blood flow in the body, cells and brain.
Lab studies showed that, with exercise, the brain secretes higher levels of a protein called brain-derived neurotropic factor, BDNF, which encourages tissue growth and lead to good health. The nutrient enhances mental and physical performances and stimulates brain development. The release of BDNF after activity repairs memory cells, resets the brain, clears the brain and helps thinking and concentration. Simultaneously, other chemicals like endorphins are secreted, relieving stress, blocking pain, encouraging lengthier exercising, improving mood and giving feelings of elation. The two chemicals can be addictive, but such productive addictions are welcome for the health of the brain and body. They promote long lasting motivation, productivity, interest in work and studies and learning. According to anthropologist David A. Raichlen of the University of Arizona, physical training can become a factor in making human brains smarter.
Recent research from Penn State University also showed that “Those who had exercised during the preceding month but not on the day of testing generally did better on the memory test than those who had been sedentary, but did not perform nearly as well as those who had worked out that morning.”
Another study strongly prescribes that toddlers and children should play, run and be active for at least six cumulative hours in order to prevent unnecessary weight gain and obesity and help normal body and brain developments and bone growth. Exercise and activity generate energy in children, improve blood circulation in their growing bodies and brains and enhance their moods and their sleep at the end of a long day.
There is one more fact to add. Exercise offers the benefit of decreasing the “bad” cholesterol, increasing the “good” cholesterol that sweeps blood clots, fat globules and plaque from the arteries and vascular system. It also enhances the memory and learning abilities, helps in the interwiring of neurons (brain cells), stabilizes the mood, reduces depression by raising serotonin, the mood enhancer and teaches social skills and teamwork. It is a faulty notion that children are immune to cholesterol and plaque buildup in the arteries. Autopsies on children have shown fat and plaque in their vascular system.
Unfortunately, our schools do not offer enough exercise and sport’s activities during school hours for boys; and girls are not even given the luxury of exercising or playing any form of sports. How do we expect our children to keep slim and become active and energetic without exercise? Sports and outdoor physical activities release the excess energy bottled in children’s growing bodies. Exercise also deters them from becoming destructive, doing mischief, forming gangs, or using drugs. An old Arabic saying goes, “The sound brain is in the healthy body.”
There is one unhealthy lifestyle practice that I aim to discuss next time, inshallah, in order to cover most aspects that contribute to obesity and disease.
N.B.: Individuals with medical conditions or on medication should consult their physicians when they decide to introduce anything new in their diet even if it is natural.
References and sources:
— PETA's website: www.popsci.com/science/gallery/2013-02/5-things-grosser-horse-meat-your-...
— Articles by New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Reynolds
To read previous Health Solutions articles, visit: www.arabnews.com/life.style
