Feature stories
See what people have written about Safe Routes Nebraska and the programs we’re helping communities implement all over the state.
Want healthier kids? Stop driving them around!
Over the last few decades, obesity has become an epidemic in America. And it’s not just happening to adults. Children are fatter than at any time in American history, and it’s leading to major health problems.
According to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, approximately 24 million children in the United States are overweight or at risk of being overweight. That’s more than one-third of children and adolescents, more than triple the obesity rate from 20 years ago.
According to the National Institute of Health, 70 percent of overweight kids become overweight or obese adults. The consequences are serious . . . this generation of children may well have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
What are the consequences?
Obesity means more than just being “the fat kid.” Social discrimination is one of the immediately painful consequences, but childhood obesity has much deadlier consequences in store for its victims:
- Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common in children. It used to only occur in adults.
- Obese children frequently develop orthopedic problems, liver disease, and asthma.
- Many obese children have cholesterol and blood pressure levels high enough to put them at risk for heart disease.
- Obese children are at risk for sleep apnea, which can affect their learning and memory.
- Many obese children will become obese adults, who are at high risk for deadly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer.
Where did we go wrong?
Put simply, we got lazy. As a culture, the United States has become inactive in the past decades. And inactivity is the main culprit in the skyrocketing obesity rates.
For children, inactivity is a result of leisure time being spent in front of the television or computer. In fact, the National Institute of Health estimates that half of children aged 8–16 watch three to five hours of television every day. That doesn’t leave much time for kids to get the Surgeon General-recommended 60 minutes per day of physical activity.
Beyond leisure time, though, inactivity has taken over other areas of childhood in the United States. In 1969, 42 percent of children walked or biked to school. By 2001, that number had declined to only 16 percent.
“Fewer and fewer children are walking and biking as daily transportation,” said Kelly Morgan of Safe Routes Nebraska. “Most kids are driven to school by their parents, so they’re not even close to getting the exercise they need.”
If children are spending most of their leisure time inactive, plus never walking or biking to school, it’s no wonder obesity is on the rise.
How can we make it right?
Get children up and moving. One easy way to do that is to stop driving them to school every day. Have them walk or bike. It’s a great way to make sure they’re consistently getting exercise. And consistency is the key to building a lifelong habit.
“Kids who walk or bike to school get the exercise they need to maintain a healthy weight,” Morgan said, “and that’s important to making sure they have long, healthy lives.”
One of the problems with getting kids to walk and bike regularly is the lack of safe paths for kids to use.
“In order to get more kids walking and biking to school, we have to make it safer,” said Morgan. “At Safe Routes Nebraska, we provide funding to make infrastructure changes to help kids stay safe.”
Infrastructure changes can include new sidewalks that connect kids from their homes to school, school zone signage to reduce speeds near schools, or similar improvements a school or community needs to make it safer for kids to walk and bike every day.
But Safe Routes Nebraska asks for something in return. “Funds are awarded to schools and communities with comprehensive plans for promoting walking and biking,” said Morgan. “Building a safe route is one component, but educating students and parents about the importance of daily exercise is a major part of reversing the obesity epidemic.”
Safe Routes Nebraska is the state-level implementation of the National Safe Routes to School Program. The program provides funding to communities and schools to build more walker- and biker-friendly paths for kids to use on their way to school.
Find out more about how Safe Routes Nebraska can help your community fight the obesity epidemic and put your kids on a healthier path. Visit www.SafeRoutesNE.com or contact Kelly Morgan, Safe Routes Nebraska program coordinator at 402-476-7331 or kmorgan@sinclairhille.com.
