It’s 95 degrees and sunny. You spend most of your day by the pool with your friends running and playing different games and then go for a bike ride after dinner because its summer! Sounds like a normal day for any child during summer right? Maybe 15 years ago, but not so much any more!
An article by the New York Times claims that summer is actually the leading months for when children gain weight. We talk over and over about different weight management/ health living school programs failing to work or costing too much money and time to implement into the system when maybe school is not the problem? Maybe we need to be looking at what the children do outside of school especially during the summer. Maybe we also need to look at their home surroundings, the food they are being given, and the food habits of the household.
As the article states, “During the academic year, meal times [are] more fixed; sleep is better regulated; physical education and recess, however minimal, is in the schedule; and, most critically, by being in class during the day and doing homework afterward, students have less time for screens.”1 These are all extremely important factors that many parents and caregivers do not realize when caring for their children during the summer months. The research shows that over a 3 school year and 2 summer periods the only time students gained weight was during the summer months!
So, bottom line, when the summer months come around get those kids moving and keep them in their routines and most of all make sure any caregivers aiding during the summer do the same!
- http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/03/health/children-obesity-summer.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&_r=0
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21613/full
This makes sense not only due to the lack of regimen, but actually due to the climate as well. A number of children are sensitive to the heat, which means it can keep them from participating in outdoor activities. I know this was the case for myself growing up. I had a lack of education regarding the effect heat had on me and I found that the teachers and staff in the day camp were not that informed either. This resulted in me getting heat stroke one particular day. I wonder how this is today when it comes to the training of staff and teachers for summer programs. Education is the key for both children and adults when it comes to beating the heat. I know that Georgia did pass a law regarding conducting sports practices in extreme heat and this is applicable during the summer. I wonder if there are any kind of policy in place for summer camps and summer programs. (for more information, see: https://www.ghsa.net/sites/default/files/documents/sports-medicine/HeatPolicy2013.pdf)
I also think that the cost of these summer programs cannot be ignored. A lot of the summer programs and summer camps are high which results in children just staying home during the summer. I wonder what kind of health interventions can be implemented to children who are not in some kind of summer program or summer camp. Maybe vouch for physical activity specific programming at public libraries? That tends to be a place many kids end up during the summer and they offer a variety of free programs.
This headline is shocking to me. I must have grown up differently than others because summer camp when I was younger, and grueling tennis season in high school. For me, summer means 5-7 hours of daily activity. While video games continue to boom, it just is shocking that they are truly overtaking everything that there is. I do understand that not everyone like 90+ degree weather, and I am probably an exception for liking that weather as much as I do.
I think routine is overrated, and that as long as something like camp is scheduled as a replacement then summer weight gain can be avoided.