Adventure Education and Wilderness Sports

Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States. With obesity rates on the rise something must be done to prevent this massive issue. Seventeen percent of children and adolescents about 12.5 million are obese (Diet). Obesity is the result of a rise in fat that accumulated over time due to the lack of exercise and having a calorie surplus due to unhealthy food. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than 30% is considered to be obese (Obesity). There isn’t a direct focus on obesity, because people don’t think it’s an important issue. To ensure a better future, solution is needed now. The solution to ending the obesity epidemic by encouraging a healthier lifestyle on children at young ages, improving nutrition at schools and restaurants, as well as providing more time and space for citizens to get physically active.

What are the largest problems that plague America? Most would argue that issues such as mass hunger, climate change and poverty are the most prominent difficulties that the United States faces. While these things are important, and do have a great impact on the country, there is another large and often forgotten issue that faces America: childhood obesity. This nationwide problem is also directly harmful to the strength and conditioning industry. Physical education classes are failing to involve kids in the necessary amount of daily physical activity. Parents are lacking proactivity to get kids exercising. Food marketing is aggressively drawing children to junk food, and restaurants are failing to provide healthy food options for kids. Children in America today are fatter than they’ve been at any point in the history of humans. Childhood obesity is the largest problem facing the strength and conditioning industry because it causes severe physical, psychological and social problems later on in life; therefore it is imperative that children be educated on nutrition so that they can be knowledgeable viewers of modern day food marketing.

“The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake” a quote made by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, as she launches her comprehensive initiative to change the way children think about nutrition and physical fitness (“Learn the Facts,” 2010). Three decades ago, children lived active lives that kept them healthier. They walked to and from school, ate home cooked, reasonable portion meals with vegetables and played outdoors most of the time. Today, children ride the bus instead of walk, eat more fast food and snacks throughout the day because parents are busier, and watch more television or play video games rather than be active outside with peers (“Learn the Facts,” 2010). Young children are becoming overweight and obese along with being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes more frequently. They are making poor dietary choices, inadequate physical activity, and spending too much screen time all contributing to the obesity crisis. One of the effective solutions to reversing the trend of childhood obesity is to provide safe, affordable and accessible after-school health and physical fitness educational programs for all school ages across the nation.

As a future educator of physical education, I feel that our nation’s weight problem is an issue that needs to be addressed. I feel that it is and will be my job to educate students about the importance of taking care of your body because “fat kids have a 92% chance of becoming fat adults” (www.amp.com). The leading cause of death in the United States, for men and women, is heart disease. “The United States alone the estimated annual number of deaths attributable to obesity is about 280,000.”

America, like any other country, has its assortment of problems: immigration, debt, or foreign affairs but one issue that is rather hard to overlook, literally, its obesity epidemic. The extra pounds have become a sight all too common in America’s society, “men are now on average seventeen pounds heavier than they were in the late seventies, and for women that figure is even higher: nineteen pounds.” (Kolbert). Obesity does not just affect adults in this way either, the kid population has been getting bigger, according to the numbers on a scale “the proportion of overweight children, age six to eleven, has more than doubled, while the proportion of overweight adolescents, age twelve to nineteen, has more than tripled.” (Kolbert). This issue has been a major concern to doctors and scientists for decades and in recent years, has even has the American Medical Association recognizing obesity to be a disease (Pollack). That is a highly debatable statement because obesity itself is a preventable lifestyle. Obesity is avoidable and curable to all (or at least most) of its sufferers. For some citizens, obesity is not a choice, rather genetics, but for the majority of the population, obesity is caused by an unhealthy diet and lazy lifestyle, and for these certain individuals, through a lot of work and discipline, the return to a healthy lifestyle is not as impossible as it may appear.

Obesity is becoming one of the biggest problems in the country, but there has to be reasons for it. It can be the economy, society now, or people and companies. It’s time that our country starts to realize that we can’t live like this anymore. We need to see what is causing the sudden rise in obesity, and what we can do to fix it. Education of risks and solutions can be very helpful. Obesity is killing so many people, yet is still 100 percent avoidable. Our country is beginning to care less and really let themselves go. The fast food industry, supermarkets, and schools are the ones at fault for the spreading problem of obesity.

The obesity epidemic here in the United States affects a mass portion of all children and adolescents. The rapid growth in childhood obesity has become a prevalent health concern that is overlooked due to its’ normality. The main focus of this issue has always been fixated on how to help those facing current problems with obesity. Instead, attention needs to be brought to the prevention of our country’s #1 leading health concern, which has yet to be compromised. This ignorance has led millions of children ill-educated on the importance of lifestyle and the simple concept that “we are what we eat”. The reality of this issue is not one many want to take responsibility for, but the significant impact education has on what children consume is greater than we may think. The lack of effort in our education system and the simple changes in the education we provide can significantly help reduce the obesity crisis we face. Our education career is one of the most influential aspects of all of our lives and though most of children’s time is spent in school, it lacks teaching the importance of food, the consequences of unhealthy diets and its’ little value on health as being part of our future success.

The rate of childhood obesity has grown an enormous amount over the years with more than 40 million children being overweight! That number is astonishingly high and it is very obvious that something needs to be done about this. Studies had shown in 2008 that more than 40 million children were said to be overweight and the sad truth is that they are still increasing rapidly to this day; also every 1 in 4 teenagers is said to not reach the fitness guidelines (Tanner) according to an article by Lindsey Tanner. For this problem to be resolved not only do the parents of children need to make sure their kids are staying active but also, the schools they attend need to make sure they are getting a well-balanced meal and have some type of physical activity during their school day. Each state in America is given a percentage rate on the number of obese people in that particular state. The highest ranking state is Mississippi with a percentage of 34.9 and the state ranking the least is Connecticut with 24.5 percent. Different researches have shown that each day 850 lives are taken due to obesity and each year there are more than 300,000 people that die from obesity related illnesses. These are deaths that most likely could have been avoided if these individuals would have had the proper exercise and diet in their lives.

America is facing a rigorous obesity plague that is endangering the health of millions. Moreover, we are passing our bad practices down to our children. Obesity is a stipulation in which anomalous or excessive fat buildup in adipose tissue that damages health. Obesity is defined in adults as a body mass index (BMI) exceeding 30 (kg/m). Obesity is one of the most discernible, but until recently, most deserted public health problems. The present high pervasiveness of obesity and the brisk increase in pervasiveness in the last twenty years has been referred to as an endemic (Johnson SJ, Birch LL. 1994). Children all through the U.S. are getting fatter and less fit, through potentially treacherous enduring consequences. The figure of

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the number of obese children ages 6-19 have tripled to 16% over the last twelve years. That is an alarming figure. One of the main causes is lack of physical activity. This may seem like an obvious cause, but it seems to be the one our youth have the most problems with. Physical education is being

In order to impede the epidemic of childhood obesity, the actual causes of the problem need to be evaluated and dissected. Obesity in children is becoming a huge problem in American society. In the past three decades, the rate of overweight children has increased by 300%. This is an alarming rate that is only climbing higher. Every member in society should take steps to becoming healthier. This would help the present generations as well as future generations to come. The lifestyle of Americans keeps us too busy to be a healthy society.

Recently there has been an emergence of an activity in America that numerous people have not noticed, what might this activity be, it is hiking. Hiking is an activity that has recently become popular with people of all ages; since the year 1960 the number of hikers in Colorado alone has almost quadrupled. Why is this? Countless people have discovered what an excellent activity hiking is, and have found it extremely enjoyable. Although only fifteen percent of Americans hike, hiking is an activity with several hidden benefits that one might not notice straightaway, these benefits make a combination of hiking and rock climbing the best activity in the world.

Yet today America has become the fattest nation in the world. “Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are obese: 34%” (CDC). Of the 34% of people that is nearly 125 million of the American population that are obese. If there are this many people that affected by obesity, there is silent epidemic among the population. It is the responsibly of the school to provide

This is compromised of 5 steps including, “Develop outdoor sports skills; enjoy the satisfaction of competence, Live within the limits or personal ability in relation to the environment and physical activities, Derive pleasure in accepting the challenge and risk of stressful physical activity, Develop awareness of mutual dependency of self and the natural world, Share experiences and learning in cooperation with others” (Kelly, Melograno, 2014). In the first step, it is very important to make sure students grasp the understanding of the Wilderness sport activity nature, and the level of physical and emotional endurance it will take. Also, each student reaches making sure that an ideal level of competence. In the second step, it is important to make sure each student understands their personal ability and skill level to perform the activities. In the third step, each student should have an understanding that these activities are not normal nature to what they have been learning in regards to sport education. These activities are much more stressful and strenuous and require a greater deal of focus and engagement. It is important students are gaining pleasure in accepting this type of risk and stress. In the fourth step, students should be taught what it means to be dependent on themselves and nature that surrounds them during these activities. They should become one with nature in order to ream the full benefits.

There is a recent emergence an activity in America that numerous people have not even noticed, what might this activity be, it is hiking. Hiking is an activity that has recently become popular with people of all ages; since the year 1960 the number of hikers in Colorado alone has almost quadrupled. Why is this? Countless people have discovered what an excellent activity hiking is, and have found it extremely enjoyable. Although only fifteen percent of Americans hike, hiking is an activity with several hidden benefits that one might not notice right away, these benefits make hiking the best activity in the world.