Over Sighs'd

Often, I wake up in the morning, stumble to the bathroom -- stiff with aches and pains, I don't recognize. I wonder when did they begin? Yet I can't remember a time without a hobble in my morning saunter. The person in the mirror staring back at me is a 40 year old stranger, who appears to have overindulged during these past 16 years of wedded bliss. Or just gave up paying attention to herself as she married and raised a family.

Obesity is an ugly, shameful word -- one to be whispered -- not said aloud. Yet it is all too common in the current world we live in today. What is different today than 25-30 years ago when we were growing up?

Our generation was taught to"Clean your plate, before you leave the table!" and Ring-Dings and Twinkies were acceptable snacks. To balance this though, we spent the majority of our free time outdoors, building treehouses and playing kickball.

Today, Ring Dings are still a favorite, but the serving size has doubled -- what once used to be a single Ring Ding wrapped in aluminum foil and accompanied a dozen lunches, now is a package of two wrapped in plastic, lucky to see six trips in a lunch box -- if not consumed all in one sitting. Also, the internet and video games have saved many a tree these days with Wikipedia replacing the voluminous hard-cover Britannica series of the past, but this shift has caused our children to lead much more sedentary lives.

Obesity is an epidemic and we must save our children from this over indulgence by encouraging healthy snacks, and promoting family friendly activities on the weekends. I challenge you this week to plan some outdoor activity this week with your family and get moving!