Battling Obesity

By Rick Osbourne

Thinking back over the seventeen years I spent teaching Physical Education and coaching various sports, one thing stands out to me as I read more and more about the obesity epidemic that’s stalking our nation’s kids today. During those years I noticed that kids who could perform pull ups were never overweight. And kids who were overweight could never perform pull ups. Now I know you don’t have to be a gym teacher in order to see that. It’s common knowledge. It’s so common in fact that I think we’ve overlooked it as an incredibly simple solution to childhood obesity. Let me explain.

Every Gym Teacher Knows What I’m Talking About

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By Jeffrey Hauser

It didn’t start out like that. Although my wife was just a bit overweight when we married, the condition grew like a slow-moving cancer over a decade. She enjoyed eating and had a fondness for sweets. I didn’t really notice any of the telltale signs until it was too late. We ate out and she ordered a dessert at many opportunities. We had ice cream and chocolate in the house most times and snack foods became more prevalent. By the time my daughter was born, she was 75 pounds overweight and the pregnancy didn’t help. The additional weight gained became part of her body indefinitely. We used to play golf, tennis, bowl, and go for walks together. Now she was unable to be as active, so we stayed in more. That led to even more eating and snacking.

We always liked to travel and continued the trend, even with my daughter now in the picture. But the walking tours took their toll and time in the motel room always involved eating. It was shortly after my daughter turned five that my wife noticed knee problems. A doctor affirmed the early signs of arthritis, which ran in her family. So now, not only was the weight a problem, the degenerative condition she contracted would get worse as time went on.

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