I went to a birthday party for a 1 year old this weekend.  There were children of all ages there, ranging from 12 months to 12 years.  What struck me about the whole experience was the adults hovered by the food, interested in eating and drinking, while the children played with each other.  The playing consisted of running up and down the stairs, playing hide and go seek, and what appeared to be some game involving a ball.  They didn't stop moving.  The older girls were heavier, and would probably be considered overweight, but that didn't stop them from participating; quite the contrary.  They seemed to be instigating some of the chasing games.  

According to a recent article in the LA Times, 1 in 3 children is considered overweight.  The thing is, kids want to move.  So why are our children getting heavier and heavier?  Is it because of diet?  Or is it because of external sources, such as TV, game boys, and computers?  If we take these away, kids will amuse themselves in a much more traditional mode of play.  

Not only are children getting heavier.  I think we have all seen newspaper articles suggesting diseases related to obesity may soon be the number one killer of adults.  Recent data from the CDC suggests 30% of all adults are considered obese.  Obese is defined as 30 pounds or more overweight.  What are we going to do?

The obvious answer is we need to start moving more and eating less.  Unfortunately, moving more is associated with work.  While I was watching the children play this weekend, I couldn't help but ponder the fact that as a child, movement is synonymous with play.  As we become teenagers, this starts to shift and we see movement as work.  It loses it's allure, and it becomes easier to find things to do sitting down that occupy our time.  We need to change our perspective a little bit so once again movement is the equivalent of playing, it's something that is freeing and feels good.   Maybe then we would be more likely to WANT to do it.  I can't help but notice how many people will find every reason possible not to exercise, when it should be something we look forward to.  We should celebrate the fact we can move and our bodies are healthy.  We need to find modes of exercise we enjoy so we can start to get healthier as a nation.

Recently someone mentioned to me the exercise guidelines had been changed to 45 minutes of activity 5 days a week.  I was pleased, but surprised.  The last time I had noted any change in the guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine it had been a decrease from 60 minutes to 30 minutes of moderate physical activity 5 days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous activity 3 days a week.  I had been disappointed because I felt the guidelines were accounting for people's laziness rather than what was actually good for them.  While I firmly believe something is better than nothing, there is no debating the fact American's are getting less exercise than ever.  Our current lifestyle lends itself to sitting.  People will get in their car to drive 3 blocks to the store rather than walk.  Even dogs in America are experiencing an increase in obesity.  I would venture to say the dogs aren't prone to lying around all day; an overweight dog is the owner's fault.

But back to the guidelines.  I did some research, and unfortunately it appears the most recent guidelines adopted by the CDC and set by ACSM and AHA remain 30 minutes 5 days a week.  This is 3 10 minute walks a day.  For some reason, people have a hard time wrapping their heads around that.  I often hear "I don't have time."  I don't feel this is ever an accurate statement.  Everyone has 30 minutes during their day where they are watching TV, surfing the internet, reading the newspaper.  We aren't willing to tear ourselves away from current events and fictionalized reality long enough to take care of ourselves.  The kicker is most people will tell you how much better they feel after exercising.  It's getting themselves to do it that's the hard part.