Peggy Fleming: Our Olympians Are Great ? But So Many Kids Are ...

From Mercury News?..

Wow. What a fantastic Olympics.

The amazing 104 medals won by our Olympians in London are well worth celebrating, but these victories mask an alarming

truth about our youth. While the few ? like our Olympic athletes ? can do amazing things, millions can do little more than watch.

When I was a teenager competing in the 1960s, kids were healthier, less overweight, and more involved in outdoor activities like pick-up

games and informal play. President Kennedy had given his full support to the newly named President?s Council on Physical Fitness, and schools were committed to getting our young people into shape.

Since then, the obesity rate among school-age children has more than tripled. The consequences are everywhere. Nearly one in four teenagers today is diabetic or pre-diabetic, and 25 percent of young adults are too overweight to join the military.

Children are not exercising enough. I can still recall doing mandatory sit-ups and chin-ups to meet our school?s physical education requirements. Today in California, fewer than 15 percent of 17-year-olds participate in daily physical fitness at school. Recent tests show that one third of ninth-grade students lack basic aerobic capacity, almost one quarter lack basic upper-body strength and more than one third are overweight.

In the 1960s, two out of five children rode their bikes or walked to school. Today it?s nearly one in eight.

To read the full story?..Click here

Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=3393

mexico news the talented mr ripley weather new orleans orcl the hartford illinois primary 2012 michael bay