The Exercise Pyramid: A Perspective

The exercise pyramid is the latest in forth-coming (2008) government guidelines. The question is not that exercise wouldn't be a good thing; rather, is another set of "rules" on paper going to do any good?.

Despite the existence of the food pyramid, Americans are still overweight. And the youngest generation is looking to be even more so.

Among the younger set, certain trends in education can be linked to the heftier bodies. With more requirements to graduate, more stringent testing, and the well meaning "No Child Left Behind Act", schools have cut down on recess in order to increase "learning" time.

Physical Education, while mandatory, isn't always about physical education. Sports studied include horseshoes and other games. While the intent was to find something for the non-athletic types, perhaps this is backfiring. It is the non-athletic students that tend to be overweight.

Funding issues in the school systems have led to many of New Jersey's Abbott districts to cut after school activities, including the elementary school intramural sports. Another strike against keeping our children active.

But the school system certainly shouldn't shoulder the entire blame. With the majority of two-parent families having both parents in the workforce, kids are left more and more to sit themselves. The worst baby-sitter of all time is the plethora of video games and the multitudes of television channels.

With daycare centers raising our children from infants, our kids are pre-programmed to be told constantly what to do. Somewhere along the way, they have lost the ability to amuse themselves on their own. The concept of go outside in the yard and just play has been lost.

With career-oriented and job-holding parents, family time has gone out the window. Often, quick meals, hence the popularity of meals in a box, are the norm; exercise together? Too tired.

Weekends in the working family are often spent "catching up" on cleaning, housework, automotive needs, shopping. And for those with older children, that time also gets put into school projects.

Like Hamburger Helper, just add meat and go, marketers have tried the exercise in a box routine. Christmas time brings many of them into the stores: Yoga-in-a -box, Pilates-made-simple, etc. But the meat you need to add is the effort from yourself and a hefty sized portion of the population isn't buying in to the concept.

Unlike the contents of the complete dinners on a shelf, the government can't regulate exercise. Fast food is here to stay; school requirements over the years will only increase - lessening the time available for our children to play. So what good will another piece of paper with words on it really do?